{"product_id":"americas-founding-and-the-struggle-over-economic-inequality-constitutional-thinking-9780700621736","title":"America's Founding and the Struggle over Economic Inequality (Constitutional Thinking)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf  as many allege  attacking the gap between rich and poor is a form of class warfare  then the struggle against income inequality is the longest running war in American history. To defenders of the status quo  who argue that the accumulation of wealth free of government intervention is an essential feature of the American way  this book offers a forceful answer. While many of those who oppose addressing economic inequality through public policy today do so in the name of freedom  Clement Fatovic demonstrates that concerns about freedom informed the Founding Fathers arguments for public policy that tackled economic disparities. Where contemporary arguments against such government efforts conceptualize freedom in economic terms  however  those supporting public policies conducive to greater economic equality invoked a more participatory  republican  conception of freedom. As many of the Founders understood it  economic independence  which requires a wide if imperfect distribution of property  is a precondition of the political independence they so profoundly valued.  Fatovic reveals a deep concern among the Foundersincluding Thomas Jefferson  Thomas Paine  and Noah Websterabout the impact of economic inequality on political freedom. Americas Founding and the Struggle over Economic Inequality traces this concern through many important political debates in Congress and the broader polity that shaped the early Republicdebates over tax policies  public works  public welfare  and the debt from the Revolution. We see how Alexander Hamilton  so often characterized as a cold-hearted apologist for plutocrats  actually favored a more progressive system of taxation  along with various policies aimed at easing the economic hardship of specific groups. In Thomas Paine  frequently portrayed as an advocate of laissez-faire government  we find a champion of a comprehensive welfare state that would provide old-age pensions  public housing  and a host of other benefits as a matter of \"right  not charity.\" Contrary to the picture drawn by so many of todays pundits and politicians  this book shows us how  for the first American statesmen  preventing or minimizing economic disparities was essential to the preservation of the new nations freedom and practice of self-government.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45666173026357,"sku":"ByrdShop_0700621733","price":70.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780700621736.jpg?v=1782421706","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/americas-founding-and-the-struggle-over-economic-inequality-constitutional-thinking-9780700621736","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}