After graduating from university, Rockwell took a job at Arlington House publishers, a conservative publishing house. Through this work, he encountered the works and political theories of his mentor Murray Rothbard. Reading Rothbard led Rockwell to become an ardent believer in Austrian economics and libertarian anarchism. After his ideological transformation, Rockwell went on to work as chief of staff to Congressman Ron Paul from 1978 to 1982, and partnered with Rothbard in 1982 to found the Mises Institute in Alabama, where Rockwell still serves as chairman.