THE FOUNDING FATHERS are a perennial source of both wisdom and controversy. Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. secretary of the Treasury, has taken pride of place in these public debates in recent years, thanks in part to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical and Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography. In this interview, Michael Busch speaks with journalist and economist Christian Parenti about his latest book Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder. They discuss how we still get Hamilton wrong and what we can learn from him about state building, economic planning, and the necessity of government action.
MICHAEL BUSCH: Let’s start at the beginning: Who was Alexander Hamilton? Why did you write this book?