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On the one side, we had Thomas Jefferson-a defender of limited, decentralised government; of "strict constructionism" with regards to the Constitution; of free trade and minimal taxation. On the other, we had Hamilton.
Hamilton wanted for America a strong, centralised state-the more centralised, the better. He took this so far that, at the Philadelphia Convention, "he proposed a permanent chief executive who could veto all state legislation-in other words, an American king" (p. 2). The contrast between Jefferson and Hamilton could not be more stark.
DiLorenzo explains that Hamilton "wanted to use this centralized power to subsidize business in particular, and the more affluent in general, so as to make them supportive of an ever-growing state. As treasury secretary, he was a frenetic tax-increaser and advocated government planning of the economy. He championed the accumulation of public debt, protectionist tariffs, and politically controlled banks; belittled politicians like Jefferson who spoke too much of liberty; and believed that the new American government should pursue the course of national and imperial glory, just like the British, French, and Spanish empires" (Ibid.). Given that the United States have adopted all of these evils, it should come as no surprise that DiLorenzo quotes George F. Will as saying we now live, despite our honouring of Jefferson, "in Hamilton's country" (pp. 3-4). The American Revolution has been betrayed, and in large part thanks to the surviving influence of Hamiltonianism (p. 4).
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Edit: Off-Yuku blog link, a violation of the TOU, deleted.
On the one side, we had Thomas Jefferson-a defender of limited, decentralised government; of "strict constructionism" with regards to the Constitution; of free trade and minimal taxation. On the other, we had Hamilton.
Hamilton wanted for America a strong, centralised state-the more centralised, the better. He took this so far that, at the Philadelphia Convention, "he proposed a permanent chief executive who could veto all state legislation-in other words, an American king" (p. 2). The contrast between Jefferson and Hamilton could not be more stark.
DiLorenzo explains that Hamilton "wanted to use this centralized power to subsidize business in particular, and the more affluent in general, so as to make them supportive of an ever-growing state. As treasury secretary, he was a frenetic tax-increaser and advocated government planning of the economy. He championed the accumulation of public debt, protectionist tariffs, and politically controlled banks; belittled politicians like Jefferson who spoke too much of liberty; and believed that the new American government should pursue the course of national and imperial glory, just like the British, French, and Spanish empires" (Ibid.). Given that the United States have adopted all of these evils, it should come as no surprise that DiLorenzo quotes George F. Will as saying we now live, despite our honouring of Jefferson, "in Hamilton's country" (pp. 3-4). The American Revolution has been betrayed, and in large part thanks to the surviving influence of Hamiltonianism (p. 4).
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Edit: Off-Yuku blog link, a violation of the TOU, deleted.
