The purpose of a bureaucracy is to successfully implement the actions of an organization of any size (but often associated with large entities such as government, corporations, and non-governmental organizations), in achieving its purpose and mission, and the bureaucracy is tasked to determine how it can achieve its purpose and mission with the greatest possible efficiency and at the least cost of any resources.

Negative Sterotypes

In modern use, the term bureaucracy refers to an organization that has a combination of the following traits: inefficent, slow moving, uncreative, wasting of time, money, and resources, making stupid and ineffectual decisions based on misinformation passed up through overly complex chains of command and control, having complex and overly hierachical structures, confusing and overly complex rules and procedures that defeat the purpose of the rules. Bureacracies are said to create red tape. Example, to blog down progress and wrap the project in red tape. Another common expression related with bureaucracy is "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians" referring to the fact that poorly functioning bureaucratic structures are often overly top heavy and operate in unproductive circular motions without forward progress.

Development

Modern bureaucracies arose as the government of states grew larger during the modern period, and especially following the Industrial Revolution. As the authors David Osborne and Ted Gaebler pointed out in 1993:

Weberian bureaucracy

The Weberian bureaucracy has its origin in the works by Max Weber (1864-1920), who was a notable German sociologist, political economist and administrative scholar, who had contributed immensely to the study of bureaucracy and administrative discourses and literatures, during the mid 1800s and early 1900s, and his works are still popular, even till today. Max Weber belongs to the Scientific School of Thought, who among others, discussed intensely on subject-matters, such as, specialization of job-scope, merit system, uniform principles, structure and hierarchy, to name a few. Among the scholars of his contemporaries are, Frederick Taylor (1856-1915), Henri Fayol (1841-1925), Elton Mayo (1880-1949), and later scholars, such as, Herbert A. Simon (1916-2001), Dwight Waldo (1913-2000), and others.

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Weber described many ideal types of public administration and government in his magnum opus Economy and Society (1922). His critical study of the bureaucratisation of society became one of the most enduring parts of his work. It was Weber who began the studies of bureaucracy and whose works led to the popularization of this term. Many aspects of modern public administration go back to him, and a classic, hierarchically organized civil service of the Continental type is called "Weberian civil service". As the most efficient and rational way of organizing, bureaucratization for Weber was the key part of the rational-legal authority, and furthermore, he saw it as the key process in the ongoing rationalization of the Western society.

Weber listed several precondititions for the emergence of the bureaucracy. The growth in space and population being administered and the growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out and the existence of a monetary economy resulted in a need for a more efficient administrative system. Development of communication and transportation technologies made more efficient administration possible but also in popular demand, and democratization and rationalization of culture resulted in demands that the new system treats everybody equally.

Weber's ideal bureaucracy is characterized by hierarchical organization, delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity, action taken on the basis of and recorded in written rules, bureaucratic officials need expert training, rules are implemented by neutral officials, career advancement depends on technical qualifications judged by organization, not individuals.

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While recognizing bureaucracy as the most efficient form of organization, and even indispensable for the modern state, Weber also saw it as a threat to individual freedoms, and the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in the aforementioned "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control. In order to counteract bureaucrats, the system needs entrepreneurs and politicians.

See also

Bureaucrat

Michel Crozier

Public administration

Rationalization

State (polity)

Max Weber

References

Further reading

Albrow, Martin. Bureaucracy. London: Macmillan, 1970.

On Karl Marx: Hal Draper, Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution, Volume 1: State and Bureaucracy. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979.

Marx comments on the state bureaucracy in his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right and Engels discusses the origins of the state in Origins of the Family.

Ernest Mandel, Power and Money: A Marxist Theory of Bureaucracy. London: Verso, 1992.

On Weber:

Neil Garston (ed.), Bureaucracy: Three Paradigms. Boston: Kluwer, 1993.

Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (2006), Corrupt Bureaucracy and Privatization of Tax Enforcement. Dhaka: Pathak Samabesh, ISBN 984-8120-62-9.

Weber, Max. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Translated by A.M. Henderson and Talcott Parsons. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1947.

Category:Government Category:Max Weber Category:Marxist theory Category:Organizational studies and human resource management Category:Political science

ar:بيرقراطية bg:Бюрокрация ca:Burocràcia cs:Byrokracie cy:Biwrocratiaeth da:Bureaukrati de:Bürokratie et:Bürokraatia es:Burocracia eo:Burokratio eu:Burokrazia fa:دیوان‌سالاری fr:Bureaucratie gl:Burocracia ko:관료제 hi:अफसरशाही hr:Birokracija id:Birokrasi is:Skrifræði it:Burocrazia he:ביורוקרטיה ka:ბიუროკრატია kk:Бюрократия lt:Biurokratija hu:Bürokrácia ms:Birokrasi nl:Bureaucratie ja:官僚制 no:Byråkrati pl:Biurokracja pt:Burocracia ru:Бюрократия simple:Bureaucracy sk:Byrokracia (organizačná štruktúra) sl:Birokracija sr:Бирократија fi:Byrokratia sv:Byråkrati ta:அதிகாரத்துவம் tr:Bürokrasi uk:Бюрократія ur:دفتری حکومت vi:Bộ máy quan liêu zh:官僚制

name	Terry Gilliam
birth date	November 22, 1940
birth place	Medicine Lake, Minnesota, United States
birth name	Terrence Vance Gilliam
years active	1967–present
spouse	Maggie Weston (1973–present)
occupation	Actor, animator, director, producer, screenwriter, comedian }}

Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). The only "Python" not born in Britain, he took British citizenship in 1968.

Early life

Gilliam was born in Medicine Lake, Minnesota, the son of Beatrice (née Vance) and James Hall Gilliam, who was a traveling salesman for Folgers before becoming a carpenter.

The family moved to Panorama City, California, in 1952. Gilliam attended Birmingham High School where he was class president and senior prom King, was voted "Most Likely to Succeed", and achieved straight A's. During high school, he discovered Mad magazine, which was then edited by Harvey Kurtzman; this later influenced his work.

Gilliam later spoke to Salman Rushdie about defining experiences in the 1960s that would set the foundations for his views on the world, later influencing his art and career:

Career

Animations

Terry Gilliam started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. One of his early photographic strips for Help! featured future Python cast-member John Cleese. When Help! folded, Gilliam went to Europe, jokingly announcing in the very last issue that he was "being transferred to the European branch" of the magazine, which of course did not exist. Moving to England, he animated sequences for the children's series Do Not Adjust Your Set, which also featured Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

Monty Python

Gilliam was a part of Monty Python's Flying Circus from its outset, at first credited as an animator (his name was listed separately after the other five in the closing credits), later as a full member. His cartoons were used as transitions linking the show's sketches together, and eventually came to define the group's visual language in other media (such as LP and book covers, and the title sequences of their films). Gilliam's surreal animations mix his own art, characterized by soft gradients and odd, bulbous shapes, with backgrounds and moving cutouts from antique photographs, mostly of British aristocracy from the Victorian era.

Besides doing the animations, he also appeared in several sketches, though he rarely had any main roles and did considerably less acting in the sketches. He did however have some notable sketch roles such as Cardinal Fang of the Spanish Inquisition, "I Want More Beans!" (from "Most Awful Family in Britain 1974", Episode 45) and the Screaming Queen in a cape and mask singing "Ding dong merrily on high."

More frequently, he played parts that no one else wanted to play (generally because they required a lot of make-up or uncomfortable costumes, such as a recurring knight in armour who would end sketches by walking on and hitting one of the other characters over the head with a plucked chicken) and took a number of small roles in the films, including Patsy in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (which he co-directed with Terry Jones, where Gilliam was responsible for photography, while Jones would guide the actors' performances) and the jailer in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Directing

With the gradual break-up of the Python troupe between Life of Brian in 1979 and The Meaning of Life in 1983, Gilliam became a screenwriter and director, building upon the experience he had acquired during the making of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Gilliam says he used to think of his films in terms of trilogies, starting with Time Bandits in 1981. The 1980s saw Gilliam's self-written Trilogy of Imagination about "the ages of man" in Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). All are about the "craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible." All three movies focus on these struggles and attempts to escape them through imagination; Time Bandits, through the eyes of a child, Brazil, through the eyes of a thirty-something year old, and Munchausen, through the eyes of an elderly man.

Throughout the 1990s, Gilliam directed his Trilogy of Americana, The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), which were based on scripts by other people, played on North American soil, and while still being surreal, had less fantastical plots than his previous trilogy.

Themes and philosophy

As for his philosophical background in screenwriting and directing, Gilliam said on the TV show First Hand on RoundhouseTV: "There's so many film schools, so many media courses which I actually am opposed to. Because I think it's more important to be educated, to read, to learn things, because if you're gonna be in the media and if you'll have to say things, you have to know things. If you only know about cameras and 'the media', what're you gonna be talking about except cameras and the media? So it's better learning about philosophy and art and architecture [and] literature, these are the things to be concentrating on it seems to me. Then, you can fly...!"

His films are usually highly imaginative fantasies. His long-time co-writer Charles McKeown comments about Gilliam's recurring interests, "the theme of imagination, and the importance of imagination, to how you live and how you think and so on [...] that's very much a Terry theme." Most of Gilliam's movies include plot-lines that seem to occur partly or completely in the characters' imaginations, raising questions about the definition of identity and sanity. He often shows his opposition to bureaucracy and authoritarian regimes. He also distinguishes "higher" and "lower" layers of society, with a disturbing and ironic style. His movies usually feature a fight or struggle against a great power which may be an emotional situation, a human-made idol, or even the person himself, and the situations do not always end happily. There is often a dark, paranoid atmosphere and unusual characters who formerly were normal members of society. His scripts feature black comedy and often end with a dark tragicomic twist.

As Gilliam is fascinated with the Baroque due to the historical age's pronounced struggle between spirituality and logical rationality, there is often a rich baroqueness and dichotomous eclecticity about his movies, with, for instance, high-tech computer monitors equipped with low-tech magnifying lenses in Brazil, and in The Fisher King a red knight covered with flapping bits of cloth. He also is given to incongruous juxtapositions of beauty and ugliness, or antique and modern. Regarding Gilliam's theme of modernity's struggle between spirituality and rationality whereas the individual may become dominated by a tyrannical, soulless machinery of disenchanted society, film critic James Keith Hamel observed a specific affinity of Gilliam's movies with the writings of economic historian Arnold Toynbee and sociologist Max Weber, specifically the latter's concept of the Iron cage of modern rationality.

Look and style

Gilliam's films have a distinctive look not only in mise-en-scene but even more so in photography, often recognizable from just a short clip; in order to create a surreal atmosphere of psychological unrest and a world out-of-balance, Gilliam makes frequent use of unusual camera angles, particularly low-angle shots, high-angle shots, and Dutch angles. Roger Ebert has said "his world is always hallucinatory in its richness of detail." Most of his movies are shot almost entirely with rectilinear ultra wide angle lenses of 28 mm focal length or less in order to achieve a distinctive signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion and extremely deep focus. Gilliam's long-time director of photography Nicola Pecorini has said, "with Terry and me, a long lens means something between a 40mm and a 65mm." This attitude markedly differs from the common definition in photography which qualifies 40mm to 65mm as the focal length of a normal lens instead due to resembling natural human field of view, unlike Gilliam's signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion due to his usual choice of focal length. In fact, over the years, the 14mm lens has become informally known as "The Gilliam" among film-makers due to the director's frequent use of it since at least Brazil.

In another interview, Gilliam also mentioned, in relation to the 9.8mm Kinoptic lens he had first used on Brazil, that wide-angle lenses make small film sets "look big". The widest lens he has used so far is an 8mm Zeiss lens employed on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Production problems

thumb|left|Terry Gilliam at IFC Center. 4 October 2006.Gilliam has made a few extremely expensive movies beset with production problems. After the lengthy quarreling with Universal Studios over Brazil, Gilliam's next picture, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, cost around US$46 million, and then earned only about US$8 million in US ticket sales. The film saw no wide domestic release from Columbia Pictures, which was in the process of being sold at the time.

In the mid-1990s, Gilliam and Charles McKeown developed a script for Time Bandits 2, a project that never came to be. Several of the original actors had died. Gilliam also attempted to direct a version of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, which collapsed due to disagreements over its budget and choice of lead actor.

In 1999, Gilliam attempted to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, budgeted at US$32.1 million, among the highest-budgeted films to use only European financing; but in the first week of shooting, the actor playing Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) suffered a herniated disc, and a flood severely damaged the set. The film was cancelled, resulting in an insurance claim of US$15 million. Despite the cancellation, the aborted project did yield the documentary Lost in La Mancha, produced from film from a second crew that had been hired by Gilliam to document the making of Quixote. After the cancellation, both Gilliam and the film's co-lead, Johnny Depp, wanted to revive the project. The insurance company involved in the failed first attempt withheld the rights to the screenplay for several years but the production was finally restarted in 2008.

Gilliam has attempted twice to adapt Alan Moore's Watchmen comics into a film. Both attempts (in 1989 and 1996) were unsuccessful. Most recently, unforeseeable problems again befell a Gilliam project when actor Heath Ledger died in New York City during the filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

On the other hand, Gilliam's first successful feature, Time Bandits (1981), earned more than eight times its original budget in the United States alone; The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) was nominated for four Academy Awards (and won, among other European prizes, three BAFTA Awards); The Fisher King (1991) (his first film not to feature a member from Python) was nominated for five (and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress); and 12 Monkeys went on to take over US$168 million worldwide; whilst The Brothers Grimm, despite a mixed critical reception, grossed over US$105 million worldwide. According to Box Office Mojo, his films have grossed an average of $26,009,723.

Recurring collaborators

Ever since his first Python-independent feature Jabberwocky, Gilliam has shown a propensity to work with particular actors in numerous productions. Up until the 1990s, each of Gilliam's non-Python films was to feature at least one of his fellow Monty Python alumni (particularly Palin, Cleese, and Idle), and for his finished projects Gilliam has worked with the following actors more than once (in order of first film appearance):

Derrick O'Connor (Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil)

Ian Holm (Time Bandits, Brazil)

Peter Vaughan (Time Bandits, Brazil)

Jack Purvis (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)

Jim Broadbent (Time Bandits, Brazil)

Charles McKeown (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Katherine Helmond (Time Bandits, Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Brothers Grimm)

Simon Jones (Brazil, 12 Monkeys)

Robin Williams (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King; also was to play Cavaldi in The Brothers Grimm until objections by producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein)

Jeff Bridges (The Fisher King, Tideland)

Michael Jeter (The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

Tom Waits (The Fisher King, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Christopher Plummer (12 Monkeys, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Christopher Meloni (12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

Johnny Depp (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; held the title role in Gilliam's first attempt at directing The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 2000)

Verne Troyer (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Heath Ledger (The Brothers Grimm, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Peter Stormare (The Brothers Grimm, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Other recurring collaborators include Gilliam's cinematographers Roger Pratt (Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys) and Nicola Pecorini (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), and his co-writer McKeown (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus).

Gilliam and Harry Potter

J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is a fan of Gilliam's work. Consequently, he was Rowling's first choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2000, but Warner Bros. ultimately chose Chris Columbus for the job. In response to this decision, Gilliam expressed that "I was the perfect guy to do Harry Potter. I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus' versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian." Gilliam has since stated that he wouldn't have liked to direct any Potter film. In a 2005 interview with Total Film Magazine, he said that he would not enjoy working on such an expensive project due to interference from studio executives.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, director David Yates paid homage to Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil.

Secret Tournament

In 2002, Gilliam directed a series of television advertisements called Secret Tournament. The advertisements were part of Nike's Football World Cup campaign, and featured a secret three-on-three tournament between the world's best football players inside a huge tanker ship, with the Elvis Presley song "A Little Less Conversation" playing during the advertisements.

Slava's Diabolo

In 1996, Gilliam directed the stage show Slava's Diabolo created and staged by Russian clown artist Slava Polunin. The show combines Polunin's clown style, characterized by deep non-verbal expression and interaction with the audience, with Gilliam's rich visuals and surrealistic imagery. The show premiered at the Noga hall of the Gesher theater in Jaffa, Israel.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed and co-written by Gilliam, was released in 2009. In January 2007, Gilliam announced that he had been working on a new project with writing partner Charles McKeown. One day later, the fansite Dreams reported that the new project was titled The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. In October 2007, Dreams confirmed that this would be Gilliam's next project and was slated to star Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. Production began in December 2007 in London.

On 22 January 2008, production of the film was disrupted following the death of Heath Ledger in New York City. Variety reports that Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing. Production was suspended indefinitely by 24 January, but in February actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell reportedly signed on to continue Ledger's role, transforming into multiple incarnations of his character in the "magical" world of the film. Thanks to this arrangement principal photography was completed 15 April 2008 on schedule. Editing was completed November 2008. According to the official ParnassusFilm Twitter channel launched on 30 March 2009, the film's post-production FX work finished on 31 March.

During the filming, Gilliam was accidentally hit by a bus and broke his back.

The UK release for the film was scheduled for 6 June 2009 but was pushed back to 16 October 2009. The USA release was on 25 December 2009. The film has had successful screenings including a premiere at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. The director stated his intent to dedicate the film to Ledger. Depp, Farrell, and Law donated their proceeds from the film to Ledger's daughter.

The Damnation of Faust

Gilliam made his opera debut at London's English National Opera in May 2011, directing The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz. The production received positive reviews in the British press

Projects in development or shelved

Gilliam has several projects in various states of development, including an adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy novel Good Omens. Other projects Gilliam has been trying to get off the ground since the 1990s are an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (starring Mel Gibson), an adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (which has been adapted into movies several times before), and a script titled The Defective Detective that Gilliam has co-authored with Richard LaGravenese (who wrote Gilliam's The Fisher King before).

It was rumoured that Gilliam may direct – or be involved in the production of – the animated band Gorillaz' movie. In a September 2006 interview with Uncut magazine, Damon Albarn was reported saying "... we're making a film. We've got Terry Gilliam involved." However, in a more recent interview with Gorillaz-Unofficial, Jamie Hewlett, the co-creator of the band, stated that since the time of the previous interview, Damon's and his own fixation on the film had lessened. In an August 2008 Observer interview, Gorillaz band members Albarn and Hewlett revealed the nature and title of the project, Journey to the West, a movie adaptation of the opera of the same name based on a 16th-century Chinese adventure story also known as Monkey. In January 2008, while on set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Gilliam stated that he was looking forward to the project, "But I'm still waiting to see a script!" Participating were producer Richard D. Zanuck and screenwriter Pat Rushin. When little was revealed about the nature of the film writer Pat Rushin suggested that his short story "Vow: A Prolix Parable" was an example of the screenplay's sensibility. An article at film website Tout Le Cine stated the film was to be about a reclusive and tortured data processing genius working on a mysterious project. Production was said to start May 2009. However, in June 2009 Gilliam stated that he had dropped the film having to invest more time than expected in the promotion of the 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as well as in preparation for his film of Don Quixote.

Future projects

After regaining the rights to the screenplay of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Gilliam restarted pre-production in 2008, with Johnny Depp still attached to the project. The film will be reshot completely, and Rochefort's role will be recast. Michael Palin reportedly entered talks with Gilliam to step in for Rochefort and play Don Quixote. However, Gilliam revealed on Canadian talk show The Hour on 17 December 2009, that Robert Duvall had been cast to play Quixote.

On 16 December 2010, Variety reported that Gilliam is to "godfather" a film called 1884 which is described as an animated steampunk parody of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, with several former Pythons lending their voice talents to the project whereas Gilliam will be credited as "creative adviser".

Personal life

Gilliam has been married to the British make-up and costume designer Maggie Weston since 1973. She worked on Monty Python's Flying Circus, many of the Python movies, and Gilliam's movies up to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. They have three children, Amy (b. 1978), Holly (b. 1980), and Harry (b. 1988), who have also appeared in several of Gilliam's films.

In 1968, Gilliam obtained British citizenship, then held dual American and British citizenship for the next 38 years. In January 2006 he renounced his American citizenship. In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel, he described the action as a protest against then President George W. Bush, and in an earlier interview with The Onion AV Club, he also indicated that it was related to concerns about future tax liability for his wife and children. As a result of renouncing his citizenship, Gilliam is only permitted to spend 30 days per year in the United States, fewer than ordinary British citizens. Gilliam also maintains a residence in Italy near the Umbria-Tuscany border. He has been instrumental in establishing the annual Umbria Film Festival, held in the nearby hill town of Montone.

Filmography

Feature

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (co-directed with Terry Jones)

Jabberwocky (1977)

Time Bandits (1981)

Brazil (1985)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

The Fisher King (1991)

12 Monkeys (1995)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Tideland (2005)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Upcoming films:

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (in pre-production)

Shorts

Storytime (1968) (animated short)

The Miracle of Flight (1974) (animated short)

The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983) (a short supporting feature that accompanied Monty Python's The Meaning of Life)

The Legend of Hallowdega (2010)

The Wholly Family (2011)

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Secret Tournament (2002)

The Rematch (2002)

Awards, nominations and honours

Brazil (1985)

*Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best film, director, and screenplay

*1 Academy Awards nominations Best Original Screenplay

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

*3 BAFTA Awards Best Costume Design, Best Make Up Artist, Best Production Design

*3 Silver Ribbons awarded by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design

*4 Academy Awards nominations Best Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup

*4 Saturn Awards nominations Best Costumes, Best Fantasy Film, Best Make-Up, Best Special Effects

*Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation

The Fisher King (1991)

*Academy Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mercedes Ruehl)

*4 Academy Awards nominations Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robin Williams), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music, Original Score, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

*Venice Film Festival Silver Lion Winner

*Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award Winner

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

*2 Academy Awards nominations Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Pitt), Best Costume Design

*Berlin Film Festival Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" – 3rd Place

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Cannes Film Festival Official Selection

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

*Venice Film Festival Official Selection

Tideland (2005)

San Sebastian Festival Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

*2 Academy Awards nominations Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction

*2 BAFTA Awards nominations Best Production Design, Best Make Up & Hair

*Best Fantasy Film nomination by the Costume Designers Guild of America

*British Independent Film Awards nomination for Best Achievement in Production

*International Press Academy Satellite Award Best Costume Design, 3 more nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction & Production Design, Best Original Song

*Voted Best Fantasy Film of the Year by readers of the Total Sci-Fi Online magazine.

An asteroid, 9619 Terrygilliam, is named in his honor.

Gilliam was given the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 2009 for his contribution to motion picture arts. Terry Gilliam awarded the Fellowship of the Kermodes, by film critic Mark Kermode. Gilliam was honored with the Director with Unique Visual Sensitivity Award at the Camerimage film festival in Łódź, Poland in 2009.

Further reading

References

External links

Dreams – exclusive interviews with Gilliam and coverage of his films

Senses of Cinema: Terry Gilliam

The Terry Gilliam Files – Interviews and behind-the-scenes production stories

Extensive Terry Gilliam Filmography and Biography

Terry Gilliam's Cinématon. A 4 minutes portrait by Gérard Courant

Terry Gilliam: BAFTA A Life in pictures

Terry Gilliam Interviewed by Jonathan Derbyshire “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" on New Statesman

Category:1940 births Category:American animators Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American film directors Category:American emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:British animators Category:British film directors Category:Copywriters Category:Living people Category:Monty Python members Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:British people of American descent Category:Occidental College alumni Category:People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Category:People from the San Fernando Valley

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name	Thomas Sowell
school tradition	New Social Economics
color	maroon
birth date	June 30, 1930
birth place	Gastonia, North Carolina
nationality	United States
institution	Hoover Institution (1980–present)UCLA (1970–1972, 1974–1980)Urban Institute (1972–1974)Brandeis University (1969–1970)Cornell University (1965–1969)
field	Economics, Education, Politics, History, Race relations, Child development
education	Harvard University (B.A.) 1958Columbia University (M.A.) 1959University of Chicago (Ph.D.) 1969
influences	Edmund Burke, Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, David Hume, Adam Smith, George Stigler
opposed	Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith
influenced	Clarence Thomas, Walter E. Williams, Milton Friedman, Steven Pinker, George Gilder, Paul Johnson, Arthur C. Brooks, Fred Barnes, Jonah Goldberg, David Mamet, Rush Limbaugh
awards	Military Service: United States Marine Corps, Corporal, Francis Boyer Award, National Humanities Medal, Bradley Prize, getAbstract International Book Award
signature
repec prefix	| repec_id }}

Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, humanitarian and author. A National Humanities Medal winner, he advocates laissez-faire economics and writes from a libertarian perspective. He is currently a Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Sowell was born in North Carolina and raised in Harlem, New York. He dropped out of high school and served in the United States Marines during the Korean War. In 1968, he earned his doctorate degree in economics from the University of Chicago; in that subject, he earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1958 and a master's degree from Columbia University in 1959.

Throughout his career in economics, Sowell has served on the faculties of such universities as Cornell and University of California, Los Angeles and think tanks as the Urban Institute and since 1980 the Hoover Institution. He has written over 20 books since 1972.

Biography

Sowell, an African-American, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina. His father died before he was born, and Sowell's mother, a maid, already had four children. His great-aunt and her two grown daughters adopted Sowell. In his autobiography, A Personal Odyssey, he recalled that his encounters with whites were so limited he did not believe that yellow was a hair color. When Sowell was nine, his family moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Sowell attended the selective Stuyvesant High School even though no one in his family had an education beyond sixth grade. He dropped out at age 17 because of financial difficulties and a deteriorating home environment. To support himself he worked at various jobs, including in a machine shop and as a delivery man for Western Union, and tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948. Sowell was drafted in 1951, during the Korean War, and was assigned to the US Marine Corps. Due to prior experience in photography, he worked in a photography unit but also trained Marines in handgun use.

After discharge, Sowell took a Civil Service job in Washington, D.C. and attended night classes at Howard University despite lacking a high school diploma. High grades on College Board exams and recommendations by two of his professors helped him be accepted to Harvard University, where in 1958 he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics despite early poor grades. He received a Master of Arts in economics from Columbia University in 1959 and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. Sowell initially chose Columbia University because he wanted to study under George Stigler (who years later went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics). After arriving at Columbia and learning that Stigler had moved to Chicago, he followed him there.

Sowell has taught economics at Howard University, Rutgers, Cornell, Brandeis University, Amherst College, and UCLA. Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he holds a fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman, his mentor.

Sowell has stated that he was a Marxist “during the decade of my 20s"; one of his earliest professional publications was a sympathetic examination of Marxist thought vs. Marxist-Leninist practice. His experience working as a federal government intern during the summer of 1960 caused him to reject Marxian economics in favor of free market economic theory. During his work, Sowell discovered a correlation between the rise of mandated minimum wages for workers in the sugar industry of Puerto Rico and the rise of unemployment in that industry. Studying the patterns led Sowell to theorize that the government employees who administered the minimum wage law cared more about their own jobs than the plight of the poor.

Writings

Sowell is both a syndicated columnist and an academic economist.

Besides scholarly writing, Sowell has written books, articles, and syndicated columns for a general audience in such publications as Forbes Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and major newspapers. He is a regular contributor to GOPUSA, a conservative web and email newsletter run by Endeavor Media Group, LLC. He primarily writes on economic subjects, generally advocating a free market approach to capitalism. Sowell, whose autobiography describes his serious study of Karl Marx, opposes Marxism, providing a critique in his book Marxism: Philosophy and Economics. He also argues that, contrary to popular perception, Marx never held to a labor theory of value.

Sowell also writes on racial topics and is a critic of affirmative action and race based quotas. While often described as a black conservative, he prefers not to be labeled, and considers himself more libertarian than conservative.

In another departure from economics, Sowell wrote The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late, a follow-up to his Late-Talking Children. This book investigates the phenomenon of late-talking children, frequently misdiagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental disorder. He includes the research of—among others—Professor Stephen Camarata, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University and Professor Steven Pinker, Ph.D., of Harvard University in this overview of a poorly understood developmental trait. It is a trait which he says affected many historical figures. He includes famous late-talkers such as physicists Albert Einstein, Edward Teller and Richard Feynman; mathematician Julia Robinson; and musicians Arthur Rubenstein and Clara Schumann. The book and its contributing researchers make a case for the theory that some children develop unevenly (asynchronous development) for a period in childhood due to rapid and extraordinary development in the analytical functions of the brain. This may temporarily “rob resources” from neighboring functions such as language development. The book contradicts Simon Baron-Cohen’s speculation that Einstein may have had Asperger syndrome (see also people speculated to have been autistic).

Themes of Sowell’s writing range from social policy on race, ethnic groups, education and decision-making, to classical and Marxist economics, to the problems of children perceived as having disabilities.

In Intelligence and Ethnicity, Sowell argues that IQ gaps are hardly startling or unusual between, or within, ethnic groups. He notes that the roughly 15-point gap in contemporary black–white IQ scores is similar to that between the national average and the scores of particular ethnic white groups in years past.

Sowell has also written a trilogy of books on ideologies and political positions, including A Conflict of Visions where he speaks about the origins of political strife, The Vision of the Anointed, where he compares the conservative/libertarian and liberal/progressive worldviews,The Quest for Cosmic Justice, where, like in many of his other writings, he outlines the his thesis of the need for intellectuals, politicians and leaders to fix and perfect the world in utopian, and ultimately he posits, disastrous fashions. Separate from the trilogy, but also in discussion of the subject,he wrote Intellectuals and Society, where he discusses what he argues to be the blind hubris and follies of intellectuals in a variety of areas, building on his earlier work.

Sowell takes strong issue with the notion of government as a helper or savior of minorities, arguing that the historical record shows quite the opposite.

Sowell also challenges the notion that black progress is due to progressive government programs or policies, in The Economics and Politics of Race, (1983), Ethnic America (1981), Affirmative Action (2004), and other books. He claims that many problems identified with blacks in modern society are hardly unique in terms of American ethnic groups, nor in terms of a rural proletariat swept by disruption as it became urbanized, discussed in his book, Black Rednecks and White Liberals.

In Affirmative Action Around the World Sowell holds that affirmative action covers most of the American population, particularly women, and has long since ceased to be directed towards blacks.

Columns

Sowell has a nationally syndicated column distributed by Creators Syndicate that appears in various newspapers, as well as online on websites such as Townhall, WorldNetDaily, OneNewsNow and the Jewish World Review.

Sowell comments on issues he considers to be problematic in modern-day society, which include liberal media bias; judicial activism (while staunchly defending originalism); partial birth abortion; the minimum wage; socializing health care; affirmative action; government bureaucracy; militancy in U.S. foreign policy; the U.S. war on drugs, and multiculturalism.

Sowell supports free market and pro-growth economics. In one column he criticized as socialism for the rich certain policies which he describes as benefiting the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

Sowell in a Townhall editorial, "The Bush Legacy", assessed President George W. Bush, deeming him "a mixed bag", but "an honorable man".

Sowell also favors decriminalization of all drugs.

Awards

In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002, Sowell was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science. In 2003, he was awarded the Bradley Prize for intellectual achievement. In 2008, getAbstract awarded his book Economic Facts and Fallacies with its International Book Award.

Critical reception

Political views

Sowell has been criticized for various remarks such as a comparison he made between President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler in an editorial for Investor's Business Daily after the creation of a relief fund for the BP oil spill. This has been criticized by liberal groups such as Media Matters and the Democratic National Committee. However, Republicans such as Sarah Palin and Representative Louie Gohmert have endorsed Sowell's comparison. Sowell was also criticized for an editorial in which he stated that the Democratic Party played the Race card, instigating ethnic divisions and separatism, and argued that a similar situation occurred between the Tutsis and the Hutus in Rwanda.

Economics

The Economist magazine praised Sowell's books Affirmative Action Around the World as "terse, well argued and utterly convincing" and "crammed with striking anecdotes and statistics" and Economic Facts and Fallacies: "Mr Sowell marshals his arguments with admirable clarity and authority. There is not a chapter in which he does not produce a statistic that both surprises and overturns received wisdom."

The Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen reached conclusions inconsistent with Sowell's research of price gouging.

Reviewing Sowell's 1984 book Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality?, University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson said that Sowell did not explore "reasonable alternative explanations and hypotheses" in his critiques of affirmative action. For instance, regarding Sowell's theory that women are underrepresented in fields like law and engineering because of the heavy responsibilities of marriage such as childrearing and other household work: "A plausible alternative to Mr. Sowell's hypothesis on women's pay differentials and occupational segregation is that women are virtually excluded from many desirable positions and therefore crowd into obtainable occupations." Sowell since then has written on affirmative action in an international context to address such criticisms in two books (Preferential Policies, Affirmative Action Around the World) and has written about pay differentials and occupational segregation in Economic Facts and Fallacies.

Career highlights

Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, September 1980–present

Professor of Economics, UCLA, July 1974–June 1980

Visiting Professor of Economics, Amherst College, September–December 1977

Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, April–August 1977

Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, July 1976–March 1977

Project Director, The Urban Institute, August 1972–July 1974

Associate Professor of Economics, UCLA, September 1970–June 1972

Associate Professor of Economics, Brandeis University, September 1969–June 1970

Assistant Professor of Economics, Cornell University, September 1965–June 1969

Economic Analyst, American Telephone & Telegraph Co., June 1964–August 1965

Lecturer in Economics, Howard University, September 1963–June 1964

Instructor in Economics, Douglass College, Rutgers University, September 1962–June 1963

Labor Economist, U.S. Department of Labor, June 1961–August 1962

Books by Sowell

2011. 2010. 2010. 2009. 2008. 2007. 2007. 2007. 2006. 2006. 2005. 2004.

2004. Basic Economics: A Citizen’s Guide to the Economy, revised and expanded ed. Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-08145-2 (1st ed. 2000)

2003. Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, ISBN 0-465-08143-6

2002. The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late, ISBN 0-465-08141-X

2002. Controversial Essays, ISBN 0-8179-2992-4

2002. A Personal Odyssey, ISBN 0-684-86465-7

2002. The Quest For Cosmic Justice, ISBN 0-684-86463-0

1998. Conquests and Cultures: An International History, ISBN 0-465-01400-3

1996. Migrations and Cultures: A World View, ISBN 0-465-04589-8 OCLC 41748039

1996. The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation As a Basis for Social Policy. Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-08995-X

1995. Race and Culture: A World View. Description & chapter previews. ISBN 0-465-06796-4

1993. Inside American Education, ISBN 0-7432-5408-2

1987. A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles. William Morrow, ISBN 0-688-06912-6

1987. Compassion Versus Guilt and Other Essays. William Morrow, ISBN 0688-07114-7

1986. Marxism: Philosophy and Economics. Quill, ISBN 0-688-06426-4

1984. Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? William Morrow, ISBN 0-688-03113-7

1983. The Economics and Politics of Race. William Morrow, ISBN 0-688-01891-2

1981. Ethnic America: A History. Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-02074-7

1981. Markets and Minorities. Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-04399-2

1980. Knowledge and Decisions. Basic Books.

1975. Race and Economics. David McKay Company Inc, ISBN 0-679-30262-X

1972. Say's Law, An Historical Analysis. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04166-0

See also

List of newspaper columnists

References

External links

Thomas Sowell’s home page

*Complete list of writings

Thomas Sowell Features at Creators Syndicate

Column archive at Townhall.com

Free Podcasts of Sowell’s recent articles

Archive of Articles by Thomas Sowell at JewishWorldReview.com

Book review of The Einstein Syndrome by Isabelle Rapin, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Snopes.com on Various articles attributed to Thomas Sowell

Articles and interviews

'Uncommon Knowledge' Interviews (2008-2011)

CSPAN -'Booknotes' interview (May 24, 1990)

Fox News - 'In the Right Direction' interview (2005)

CSPAN - 'Q&A;' interview (April 17, 2005)

"A Dangerous Obsession" — Part I II, III, IV, and V

"Too “Complex”?" — Part I, II, & III

"Alice in Health Care" — Part I, II, III, IV

"The 'Costs' of Medical Care" — Part I, II, III, IV

Socialism for the rich by Thomas Sowell (October 6, 2006)

“10 Questions With Thomas Sowell”, John Hawkins, Right Wing News. Sowell on flat-tax vs. progressive tax, rent-control, balanced budget amendments, protectionist tariffs, poverty and welfare, profit-restriction, illegal immigration, a weak dollar vs. a strong dollar, affirmative action, and reparations.

'Uncommon Knowledge' discussion of affirmative action

Economic Fallacies -- Interview with Thomas Sowell by Bill Steigerwald

Thomas Sowell- Columns on Jewish World Review website

“Race and IQ” Detailed discussion of Race and IQ including techniques that have masked the improvement of black IQ scores.

“Choosing a College” — discusses benefits and costs including college quality, size, specialty, intellectual rigor, social, political and sexual environment of today’s campuses. Recommends hard-nosed parental analysis (including campus visits) that ignores PR fluff and focuses on the bottom line

“Affirmative Action around the World” - critical analysis of Affirmative Action and its failures worldwide.

Salon interview with Sowell

Audio interview with National Review Online

Sowell on Economic Facts and Fallacies: Audio interview

Sowell en español

Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:African American academics Category:African American social scientists Category:American columnists Category:American economics writers Category:American economists Category:American libertarians Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:Brandeis University faculty Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Conservatism in the United States Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Hoover Institute people Category:Howard University alumni Category:Howard University faculty Category:Libertarian theorists Category:National Humanities Medal recipients Category:National Review people Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Harlem Category:People from Palo Alto, California Category:Rutgers University faculty Category:Scholars of Marxism Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni Category:United States Marines Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Human Events people

bg:Томас Соуел da:Thomas Sowell de:Thomas Sowell es:Thomas Sowell fr:Thomas Sowell ko:토마스 소웰 nl:Thomas Sowell pl:Thomas Sowell pt:Thomas Sowell sh:Thomas Sowell sv:Thomas Sowell

Michael Lipsky is currently a Research Professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. He was a program officer at the Ford Foundation after serving as a professor of political science at MIT.

He is well known in the field of public administration for his classic book about street-level bureaucracy.

References

Category:American political scientists Category:Living people

nl:Michael Lipsky

Image name	CBaldwin08.jpg
Nominee	President of the United States
Election date	November 4, 2008
Runningmate	Darrell Castle
Opponent	Bob Barr (L)John McCain (R)Cynthia McKinney (G)Ralph Nader (I)Barack Obama (D)Others
Incumbent	George W. Bush
Party	Constitution Party}}

Nominee	Vice President of the United States
Election date	November 2, 2004
Runningmate	Michael Peroutka
Opponent	Peter Camejo (I)Richard Campagna (L)Dick Cheney (R)John Edwards (D)Pat LaMarche (G)Others
Incumbent	Dick Cheney
Party	Constitution Party
Birth date	May 03, 1952
Birth place	La Porte, Indiana, USA
Occupation	Baptist pastor, radio host
Residence	Pensacola, Florida, USA
Spouse	Connie Kay Cole Baldwin (married since 1973)
Website	Chuck Baldwin LiveBaldwin 2008
Children	Sarah, Christopher, Timothy}}

Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004. He hosts a daily one-hour radio program, "Chuck Baldwin Live," and writes a daily editorial column carried on its website, on News with Views, on VDare, and in several newspapers.

As a Republican Party member, Baldwin was state chairman of the Florida Moral Majority in the 1980s. However, during the 2000 campaign of Republican George W. Bush for U.S. President, Baldwin left the party and began a long period of criticism of Bush. Baldwin endorsed U.S. Representative Ron Paul for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, and Paul in turn endorsed Baldwin for the presidency in the 2008 general election.

Baldwin supports ending U.S. involvement in the United Nations, reducing U.S. income taxes, and repeal of the Patriot Act. He would withdraw troops from Iraq and seek to end illegal immigration by enforcing immigration laws. He supports the gold standard, the right to keep and bear arms, homeschooling, and the proposed Sanctity of Life Act, which would define "human life" and legal personhood as beginning at conception, and prevent federal courts from hearing cases on abortion-related legislation.

Family and education

Baldwin's father, Edwin J. "Ed" Baldwin, was born on March 1, 1907, in Lake, Michigan, to Zora Mary Baldwin (1889–1973) and Arthur Baldwin (1881–1962), a farmer, carpenter, and construction foreman. The family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, before 1910, after which Ed's four siblings Ruth, Nina, Arthur (Bud), and Eugene (Gene) were born. Ed grew up to marry Sarah L. Baldwin, became a master welder, and was loyal to the Teamsters union and the Democratic Party.

In response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the three brothers volunteered for the Second World War on December 8, 1941. At this time Sarah left Ed because of his years of alcoholism. After the war, Ed left Arkansas and found work in La Porte, Indiana (where he lived until his death in early 1993); he was the only one of the Baldwin clan (also including his in-laws) not to remain a lifelong Arkansan. In 1947, while in poor health, Ed "gave his heart to the Lord" in a salvation experience, and reportedly never drank again. Ed had remarried, and conducted a successful volunteer chaplaincy in La Porte County Jail, Indiana State Prison, and other northern Indiana prisons for 35 years; he was regarded as an effective soulwinner and as having a special ministry to black inmates. Ed's life story was dramatized for radio by Pacific Garden Mission for its "Unshackled!" series.

Ed's son, Charles "Chuck" Baldwin, was born in La Porte, Indiana, in La Porte County, on May 3, 1952. Baldwin graduated from La Porte High School in 1971 and attended Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan, for two years. He met Connie Kay Cole there and married her on June 2, 1973. Though he originally had planned on a career in law enforcement, Baldwin felt called to evangelistic ministry; he moved to the south, and enrolled in, and graduated with a Bible diploma from, the Thomas Road Bible Institute (now the Liberty Bible Institute at Liberty University). He then received his bachelor's and master's in theology through external programs from Christian Bible College, a diploma mill located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Baldwin has received two honorary doctor of divinity degrees, from Christian Bible College and from Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida.

On June 22, 1975, Chuck and Connie Baldwin and four other individuals held the first meeting of what would become the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida; Baldwin was the founding pastor. By 1985 the church had gone through repeated building programs and been recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.

The Baldwins have three children. Sarah is the oldest; she and her husband, structural engineer Allan Baker, are church youth leaders and have three children. Second is Christopher (Chris), who owns a plumbing business; he and his wife, Jana Baldwin née McCoy, also have three children. Third is Timothy, a lawyer and a music minster at Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana.

Political activity

Until he became a Republican in 1980, Baldwin had been a registered Democrat, like his father. From 1980 to 1984, Baldwin served as Pensacola chairman and then state executive director of the Florida Moral Majority, organized by the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Lynchburg, Virginia. Baldwin helped carry the state twice for Reagan electors; he says he helped Falwell register some 50,000 Christian conservative voters. Baldwin's father, Ed, a lifelong Democrat, expressed grudging admiration for what he saw as Reagan's honesty and courage. In August 1994, Baldwin had a call-in radio show on the Christian Patriot Network.

In 2000, however, Baldwin left the Republican Party on grounds that the Bush–Cheney ticket was too liberal. Baldwin has said that many evangelical minds, similarly to ministers in Nazi Germany, have seemingly given Bush "the aura of an American Fuhrer." He considered himself an independent affiliated with the Constitution Party.

At about this time, Baldwin began hosting a local daily one-hour current-events radio program, "Chuck Baldwin Live," which continues today nationwide on the Genesis Communications Network. He writes a semiweekly editorial column carried on its website, on VDare, Chuckbalwinlive.com, and in several newspapers. He has also appeared on numerous television shows and radio shows, in churches across the country, and as the keynote speaker for the 50th anniversary of D-Day at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

2004 vice presidential campaign

In the 2004 presidential election, Baldwin was the running mate of Michael Peroutka of Maryland and was the candidate for U.S. vice president on the Constitution Party ticket, the Alaskan Independence Party ticket, and other tickets and qualified write-in slots in 42 states. The two ran on a platform of "For God, Family, and the Republic." The Peroutka–Baldwin campaign publicly spoke out against abortion, women in the military, and the Iraq War, and emphasized the Bible, traditional family values, and the need for Constitutionally limited government.

On August 14, 2004, the Clarion Call to Converge Committee hosted discussions of potential strategic merger among the America First Party, the American Independent Party, and the Independent American Party; invited Constitution Party chair Jim Clymer was unable to attend due to Hurricane Charley. While the committee found the meeting favorable toward some party merger, AFP national chairman Dan Charles saw other forms of party cooperation to be more likely. In the end, the four parties succeeded in uniting to endorse Peroutka–Baldwin as their 2004 presidential ticket.

Peroutka was also endorsed by many paleoconservatives, the Alaskan Independence Party, the League of the South (accepted by Peroutka at its 2004 national convention), the Southern Party of Georgia, Samuel T. Francis, Alex Jones, Howard Phillips, and Taki Theodoracopulos. Pat Buchanan also stated there was a chance he would vote for Peroutka, counting them as "a Buchananite party", but eventually endorsed Bush. The ticket came in fifth with 143,630 votes (0.12%) and spent $728,221, somewhat less per vote than either George W. Bush or John Kerry. It was the only third party to increase its share of the vote in 2004.

Interim activity

In the Constitution Party's April 2006 national convention in Tampa, Florida, a heated disaffiliation vote forced members to choose between one of two pro-life positions. The assembly voted not to disaffiliate the Independent American Party of Nevada over the more exceptive position of its gubernatorial candidate, Christopher H. Hansen. Baldwin voted in favor of disaffiliation, favoring the more conservative position. Baldwin remained with the party, but several conservative state parties subsequently voted to leave the national party, believing it to have unacceptably compromised its pro-life platform; rump factions have been orchestrated by the national Constitution Party in some of these states.

On August 30, 2007, Baldwin wrote an informal endorsement for Ron Paul for the GOP nomination: "Conservative Republicans have only one choice for president in 2008: Congressman Ron Paul of Texas"; more formal endorsement of Paul came in a December video. That same month, Baldwin said:

}}

2008 presidential campaign

Baldwin's vice presidential run, and Peroutka's withdrawal from the national Constitution Party, led to active 2006 speculation that Baldwin would seek the presidential nomination in 2008. Baldwin responded in October that "I have learned to never say never, but I have no desire to run. [It] would require several 'miraculous' signs of reassurance that, frankly, I cannot see happening. However, I am always open to God's will." He repeated this stance through March 2008.

Baldwin announced on April 10, two weeks before the national convention was held in Kansas City, Missouri, that he would make himself available for the party's nomination at the convention, while "not 'running,'" but continuing to seek God's will. A Nolan Chart writer conveyed speculation that Baldwin's availability may have been responsive to the sudden candidacy of former ambassador Alan Keyes, who strongly favored the Iraq war; Baldwin, a noninterventionist, admitted others "have urged me to place my name in nomination." In a convention speech, party founder Howard Phillips endorsed Baldwin and controversially referred to Keyes as a neocon and a too-recent Republican.

Baldwin was nominated on April 26, 2008, after what was described as the most contentious battle in the party's 16-year history. He received 383.8 votes, ahead of Keyes, who drew 125.7 votes from delegates; Keyes had abandoned the Republicans for the Constitution Party (one month before the Constitution Party convention), much as Baldwin had done in 2000. Party members such as national chairman Jim Clymer said Baldwin's stands were more in line with party thinking. Baldwin asked the convention to nominate bankruptcy attorney Darrell Castle of Tennessee as his running mate, and this request was honored.

After Ron Paul withdrew from the Republican campaign in June, he remained neutral about making a presidential endorsement. On September 10, Paul held a National Press Club conference at which Baldwin, Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, and independent candidate Ralph Nader all agreed on four principles—quickly ending the Iraq war, protecting privacy and civil liberties, stopping increases in the national debt, and investigating the Federal Reserve—and on their opposition to the Democratic and Republican parties ignoring these issues.

Paul's advice at the conference was to vote for whichever third-party candidate one has the most affinity to, because "we must maximize the total votes of those rejecting the two major candidates." However, on September 22, 2008, Paul stated his neutrality was "due to my respect and friendship and support from both the Constitution and Libertarian Party members . . . and I'm a ten-term Republican congressman. It is not against the law to participate in more than one political party." Paul then gave his endorsement to Baldwin: "Unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate . . . has [persuaded] me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I'm supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate." Paul later clarified that though he would vote for Baldwin, he recognized the diversity of his support base and could not bind anyone's conscience. A former Paul primary backer, Houston term limits pioneer Clymer Wright, also contributed to the Baldwin campaign.

Baldwin has written specifically against the candidacies of Barack Obama and John McCain, and those of vice-presidential nominees Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

Move to Montana

In 2010, Baldwin retired from his position as pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church and announced his intention to move to Montana, because he believed God had told him that the Mountain states were the "tip of the spear in the freedom fight." In March 2011, he wrote an article in support of the American Redoubt concept originated by novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles. This plan designates five western states (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative Christians. In a June 9, 2011 article, Baldwin outlined his reasons for choosing the Flathead Valley of Western Montana for his family's home. He cited Montana's freedom-loving people, its recognition of the right to keep and bear arms, and a feeling of strong conviction, following prayer.

Political positions

Foreign policy

Baldwin supports American sovereignty and is a staunch opponent of what he sees as the New world order. He has stated that fighting against one-world government is his top priority. He believes globalism in government has led to many connected threats and issues, among which he lists illegal immigration, the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA, the North American Union, the Trans-Texas Corridor, the Iraq war, China, the Security and Prosperity Partnership, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. He would also effect United States withdrawal from the United Nations and has pledged to push the UN out of its New York City offices.

Baldwin believes that "the invasion and occupation of Iraq was absolutely unnecessary" and has said his presidency would result in troop withdrawal from Iraq.

He has written that "the Mexican government is deliberately and systematically working to destabilize and undermine the very fabric and framework of American society." He strongly opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants and would try to end illegal immigration.

Baldwin has suggested reopening the investigation into the September 11 attacks, believing that the 9/11 truth movement has a right to have alternative 9/11 theories investigated, including those that raise the possibility of U.S. government involvement in the attacks.

Economy

Baldwin says he would end all federal income taxes and phase out the Internal Revenue Service. In an interview, he said, "What I would propose is an across-the-board, general 10 percent tariff on all imports and that would meet the Constitution's prescription for financing the federal government—duties, imposts, tariffs", which, he claims, would also help keep jobs in the United States. His website also says that "a tariff on foreign imports, based on the difference between the foreign item's cost of production abroad and the cost of production of a similar item produced in the United States, would be a Constitutional step toward a fair trade policy that would protect American jobs and, at the same time, raise revenue for our national government."

He has said that as president he would streamline the federal government and tap oil reserves in Alaska, the Dakotas, and the Gulf of Mexico. He believes the United States should return to the gold standard.

States' rights

Baldwin believes that "the South was right in the War Between the States," and that the leaders of the Confederacy were not racists. He uses the term "War for Southern Independence". He bemoans George W. Bush's failure to rescind executive orders by Bill Clinton that appear to undermine states' rights and private property rights.

Individual liberties

Baldwin "believe[s] the federal 'war on terror' and 'war on drugs' are mostly a cover for power-hungry, Big Government zealots to trample constitutional government and squash freedoms and liberties, which are supposed to be protected by the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence." He opposes the Patriot Act and related legislation and orders, saying that it "deprives the people of their rights secured under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments under the guise of 'combating terrorism' or 'protecting national security'". In relation to airplane captain Don Carty profiling a customer's credentials and behavior, Baldwin stated that "profiling of all sorts is a very necessary tool for effective law enforcement. Only morons would try to hamper a lawman's ability to bring criminals to justice by removing this tool from them."

Regarding the separation of church and state, Baldwin believes that "America was deliberately and distinctively founded as a haven for Christians" and he supports the public display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings.

He says that freedom of association in health care is important: "I strongly support the freedom of choice of practitioner and treatment for all citizens for their health care. . . . The government should not have the power to force people to receive immunizations or vaccinations." He also would eliminate the Food and Drug Administration as unconstitutional.

Baldwin supports freedom for homeschooling and private schooling and wants to disband the U.S. Department of Education; he says that he would be the best friend homeschoolers have ever had in the White House.

Baldwin is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and he believes that the right to keep and bear arms should not be infringed by the government:

A Baldwin Administration will uphold the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms and will oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and, further, will stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition. . . . Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration, once said, "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." Just as the right to bear arms is necessary in the defense against tyranny, so [too] is that same right vital for the purpose of self-defense. . . . Firearms are used 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. . . . The vast majority of the time (92%), the mere presence of a firearm helps to avert a major crime from occurring. That is what Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) concluded after extensive research. According to Rep. Bartlett, the number of defensive uses is four times the number of crimes reported committed with guns.

Baldwin had already begun promoting militia movements on his radio show as early as 1995. He says that in his opinion, people like Morris Dees, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, try to "pander the market of fear, trying to convince everybody that anyone with a gun, any person who wants to own a gun, and anyone who would consider themselves part of a citizen militia is a threat to our government and to our society."

Baldwin firmly opposes abortion and Roe v. Wade. He favors Ron Paul's Sanctity of Life Act and says his presidency would end abortion.

He takes a critical view of the federal government's handling of Randy Weaver, the Branch Davidians, and Hutaree.

Personal views

Baldwin has several beliefs typically distinctive of Independent Baptists, such as the primacy of the local New Testament church, premillennial dispensationalism, counting homosexuality as a moral perversion, avoidance of drinking and smoking, and strict diet and exercise. He believes that America has evolved to "a matriarchal society" and that it is losing the "inner toughness" of masculinity. Baldwin says his only organizational memberships are to his church, the Constitution Party, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association.

In 2002 he wrote a booklet, "What Every Christian Should Know About Islam." Baldwin summarizes Muslim persecution of Christians by saying, "Only communism rivals Islam in sheer numbers of people persecuted and killed."

In his spare time, Baldwin enjoys hunting, recreational fishing, and watching the Green Bay Packers. Among his favorite movies are The Passion of the Christ and Gods and Generals, stating that the latter "has the power to change the hearts of millions of people who disdain the Old Confederacy, who misunderstand Southern slavery, and who hold Christianity in contempt."

Bibliography

Let's Look at Legalism.

Subjects Seldom Spoken On: 11 Messages That Will Stimulate Your Mind and Stir Your Heart, 1990.

This Is the Life (a verse-by-verse exposition of the Epistles of John).

Chuck Baldwin at Chuck Baldwin Live.

Chuck Baldwin at NewsWithViews.com.

Chuck Baldwin at Renew America.

References

External links

link to Baldwin-Castle 2008

Chuck Baldwin Live

Crossroad Baptist Church of Pensacola

Conservative President 2008 Interview with Chuck Baldwin

New American Interview with Chuck Baldwin

Chuck Baldwin On the Issues

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