Vice President J.D. Vance believes that conservatives should abandon any commitment to free markets and limited government, in favor of what he characterizes as a more "Hamiltonian" view of government's role in American life and the economy. As Vance has recently explained, the ideas of Milton Friedman can only work if there are "Christian guardrails" and a virtuous citizenry. Insofar as those prerequisites are lacking, Vance suggests, the government needs to take a more active role.
Andrew Langer of the Institute for Liberty explains some of the follies in Vance's account in the Wall Street Journal. As Langer details, Vance seems to misunderstand markets, the importance of limited government, and the Hamiltonian ideals he purports to embrace. in the op-ed, "What JD Vance Gets Wrong About Hamilton," Langer notes
Mr. Vance's invocation of Hamilton obscures a fundamental disagreement extending back to the founding. Hamilton was a great statesman, but his political economy wasn't the uncontested expression of American republicanism. . .
