The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jayby Alexander Hamilton and James Madison and John Jay
Ranked 4 of 7 political philosophy books by recommenders
Praised as timeless political wisdom and worth reading today. One critic says it is not a reliable guide to motives behind the constitution's provisions.
Praised as timeless political wisdom and worth reading today. One critic says it is not a reliable guide to motives behind the constitution's provisions.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Timeless political wisdom
“It’s filled with timeless wisdom.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “The Federalist Papers No 1” Astounding and worth reading
“The Federalist Papers are astounding.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “How to Write English Prose” Relevant to current politics
“A large number of them are more or less explicit warnings that Trump-style actions and attitudes should not be tolerated”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “Judge rules Trump administration’s blacklisting of Anthropic was illegal” Recommended as essential reading
“Federalist Papers. Go read them.”
Comment from 6 Mar 2026 in “Judge Orders Government to Begin Refunding More Than $130B in Tariffs”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not reliable on constitutional motives
“They are neither a reliable summary of the motivations for the provisions they support”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 on Hacker News
Other political philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other political philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leviathanby Thomas Hobbes | 11 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Capitalist Realismby Mark Fisher and MARK FISHER | 7 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| The Princeby Niccolò Machiavelli | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| The Federalist Papersby Alexander Hamilton and James Madison and John JayThis page | 4 | 1 | 80% | 2 | — | — |
| Politicsby Aristotle | 3 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A large number of them are more or less explicit warnings that Trump-style actions and attitudes should not be tolerated”
“The Federalist Papers are astounding.”
“Federalist Papers. Go read them.”
“It’s filled with timeless wisdom.”
“They are neither a reliable summary of the motivations for the provisions they support”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.