Plato argues that a state which goes beyond need, into want, must necessarily organise itself constitutionally for warfare. This may be where the Jeffersonian appeal to a nation of yeomanry comes from. It is one of meeting needs, rather than the capital investment into luxury which Alexander Hamilton's central bank enabled. Then again, Jefferson was a shameless debtor, who, while in France, spent heavily on powdered wigs and other forms of European adornments and vanities. (more)
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.