John Maynard Keynes

1 month ago | econlib.org | Kevin Corcoran |John Maynard Keynes |David Henderson |Pierre Lemieux

R. R. Reno’s book The Return of the Strong Gods is very broad in scope. He covers many disparate phenomenon, including some commentary on economics. Unfortunately, Reno’s arguments in this regard are disappointing. While describing possible causes of economic inequality, Reno says “This is the sort of assertion I prefer to leave to the economic theorists to debate.” This was a wise instinct on Reno’s part, and one he would have benefited from if it had been more consistently applied.

2 months ago | econlib.org | Art Carden |John Maynard Keynes |Pierre Lemieux |David Henderson

“I give you the toast of the Royal Economic Society, of economics and economists, who are the trustees not of civilization, but of the possibility of civilization.” John Maynard Keynes, quoted in Dwight E. Robinson, “Economics and ‘The Possibility of Civilization’” Four Judgments, Quarterly Journal of Economics 67(1), Feb 1953, pp. 50-75, p. 50Look around you. No doubt you see people doing things that don’t make much sense when you think about it.

Sep 8, 2024 | econlib.org | Art Carden |John Maynard Keynes |Scott Sumner |David Henderson

“Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.” –John Maynard KeynesI thought about this passage while reading David Henderson’s EconLog post about further declines in the quality of the $1.50 Costco Hot Dog.

Sep 2, 2024 | ajc.com | Michael Kanell |John Maynard Keynes

Data is dandy, statistics are spiffy, but animal spirits make things happen. The phrase, by John Maynard Keynes, was meant to describe the power of emotion and psychology in the human action that drives the economy, despite the common reliance on numbers and formulas used to describe economic behavior. Sure, said the iconic economist, the economy is shaped and propelled by crucial, measurable factors — like the amount of money in circulation and the ways that demand is created and boosted.

Aug 23, 2024 | marxists.org | John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money Book III The Propensity to Consume WE are now in a position to return to our main theme, from which we broke off at the end of Book I in order to deal with certain general problems of method and definition. The ultimate object of our analysis is to discover what determines the volume of employment.