There is lots on Keynes on the web. Here is one bit of info. =====================================
John Maynard Keynes is unquestionably the major figure in twentieth- century economics. His reputation does not rest solely on the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), which initiated the so-called Keynesian Revolution, but also on his other writings, most notably A Treatise on Probability (1921) and A Treatise on Money (1930). He lived life to the full, not only as an economist and statesman, but also as a journalist, art collector, bibliophile, and patron of the arts. His criticism of the peace treaty of Versailles (1919) with Germany in The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919) made him famous overnight and effectively undermined public support for the treaty. During the crises of the 1920s he came increasingly to identify conservative economic policies as the cause of Britain's economic problems. From this beginning, he developed a new theory of income determination, grounded in the concept of the 'consumption function', the 'liquidity preference theory of interest', and the inflexibility of money wages. The unemployment crises inspired his two great works, A Treatise on Money , (1930) and the revolutionary General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money , (1936). He argued that full employment was not an automatic condition, expounded a new theory of the rate of interest, and set out the principles underlying the flows on income and expenditure, and fought the Treasury view that unemployment was incurable. Unemployment, Keynes showed, was due to a deficiency in the demand for goods and services. Governments could, by adjusting their own spending, overcome that deficiency. Control of the money supply and interest rates could also influence investment. Economic cycles could be ameliorated by macro-economic fine-tuning. The scourge of unemployment could be eliminated through enlightened monetary and fiscal policies. As well giving influential advice to the British Treasury, Keynes's views on a planned economy influenced Roosevelt's "New Deal" administration. He also played a central role in the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 which created the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. His influence on economics was such that the thirty-year boom in Western industrial countries (1945-75) has been called the Age of Keynes. -----Original Message----- From: Brad McCormick, Ed.D. [mailto:bradmcc@;cloud9.net] Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 6:03 PM To: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Last words? ( was Re: Moral hazard (was Re: Or poorer I know little about Keynes. But I seem to recall that he wrote a sane and humane document about how WOrld War I should have been settled. (I think I read it some years ago.) As we know, the conditions imposed on Germany at "Versailles" virtually assured what we now call: a payback. Maybe I misremember. But if I am right, then there are other criteria for judging Keynes than economics narrowly considered. \brad mccormick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I think Keith is being a bit harsh with Keynes. And with the welfare state > as well. > > Coming out of WW2 nations were concerned that the depression would > re-emerge. There was a great deal of fear that unemployment would occur > once again. Hence the (about 1946) legislation in the US (and elsewhere) > to aim toward full employment as a national goal. > > Sure there are "bad guys" everywhere, but the intent of Keynes and the > impact of his work and thinking was to make the lives of all of us > considerably better. No magic solutions, but the work of a good dentist (as > Keynes claimed economists should see themselves.) > > (I know this won't get settled, but just had to put my 3 cents in---with > inflation.) > > arthur > > -----Original Message----- > From: Keith Hudson [mailto:khudson@;handlo.com] > Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 4:05 PM > To: Ed Weick > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Last words? ( was Re: Moral hazard (was Re: Or poorer > > Ed, > > At 13:54 30/10/02 -0500, you wrote: > >Keith, we are in danger of going on and on and on, but I really do want > >another word. There really was deflation in the 1930s. And there really > >was a Great Depression in which economies ground to a standstill and in > >which many millions of people were unemployed. Though I hate revealing my > >age, I'm old enough I remember my father being very angry when he had to > >apply for "relief", riding the freight trains to Alberta to try of find a > >job, and seriously thinking about breaking windows to get our family > >deported to Poland. > > Touché. My father was a skilled toolroom worker and was out of work for > several years during the Depression. I wore second-hand clothes until I was > 15. I never saw or used ordinary toilet soap or paper until I was 15 or 16. > > > (EW) > >I don't think people who tried to find solutions to the > >situation should be characterized as being patronizing do-gooders who were > >little different from the landed classes they supposedly replaced. Simply > >having wealth should not be taken to mean that you don't have a social > >conscience. There were many social reformers who came out of wealthy > >backgrounds, Robert Owen, for example, or the Fabians. > > I'm afraid that's how I characterise them. On reading Robert Skidelsky's > biography of John Maynard Keynes (three volumes -- 5" thick in total -- > more than 1500 pages) one won't find any evidence of his ever having spoken > to an ordinary working man in the whole of his life (except perhaps a > proctor or two at the university). Now I am not saying that Keynes (like > Robert Owen) was not well-meaning or not kindly-disposed to ordinary > people, but he had absolutely no idea of what they were or how they > thought. The nearest current living example we have is Anthony > Wedgewood-Benn, a Labour MP for over 40 years and as left-wing as any. But > he hardly ever speaks to ordinary people (except from a platform). Like > Keynes, he has great family wealth (in Benn's case, held in a trust, so it > can probably be passed on to his [MP] son without paying inheritance tax). > In my past active political life I knew two or three peers of the realm of > a similar sort -- rich and influential people whose heart was definitely in > the right place as far as ordinary people were concerned -- but who really > had no idea about them. (I know that Churchil had aristocratic origins so > he's not an example of the reformist liberal types I'm mentioning here -- > but, like Keynes and his ilk, he never ever had the experience of > travelling on a London omnibus or going into a shop to buy ordinary goods!) > > (EW) > >Keynes was neither a socialist nor a do gooder. All he did was look into > >the matter of why economics, as taught in the 19th century and the earlier > >part of the 20th, could not explain why capitalist economies suffered > >periodic depressions. IMHO, neither his analysis nor his recommendations > >were what ended the Great Depression. > > True. The irony is that if Keynes' methods had been tried during the 30s > they would probably have helped greatly at the time (although there would > have a price to be paid later). One of the reasons that made the Depression > stick (in England) for so long (compared with the fairly brief trade > recessions of the previous century) was that, for reasons of imperialist > obstinacy, Churchill (then Chancellor) fixed the pound at too high a price. > > Keynesianism only came into play when the new young Oxbridge economists of > the 30s had matured and reached positions of power within the Treasury > after WWII. Keynesianism was then used to "fine-tune" the economy (or so > they thought) even though it wasn't necessary and, in due course, brought > about the galloping inflation that we're talking about here. > > (EW) > WWII did that, and it also led to a > >prolonged postwar boom catalyzed by "pent-up demand" and the need to > >reconstruct Europe. If he has a lasting legacy, I would suggest that it is > >the identification of government as a major player in the economy. > >Following Keynes, governments could no longer hide behind laissez-faire > >arguments that the economy was solely a matter for the markets. They had > to > >do what governments are supposed to do - govern. > > You see governments coming into play as necessary (and benign!) agents in > hard times. I see governments as being places to which ambitious people are > constantly attracted. These people may be anywhere on a scale between being > reasonably well-disposed and crooks/nasty people of the deepest hue -- but > nevertheless, all of them like power and will not give it up willingly. In > my industrial life I knew scores and scores of men who were offered > promotion (sometimes with more earnings, sometimes not, but always with > more power, of course). I never knew a single person who ever turned > promotion down. > > >I've read nothing by Keynes, or about him, that suggested that he favoured > a > >welfare state. As I tried to argue previously, both socialism and the > >welfare state came out of different traditions, both of which have a long > >history. While that history has included do-gooders, it has also included > >many people on the front lines who were willing to lay down their lives for > >a fairer and more just society. > > True, Keynes wasn't a socialist but he was much inclined to state welfarism > -- whether of the Beveridge variety or as financial support for > (middle-class) performing arts. He was well within the liberal-welfare > state tradition (which is called socialism today) which started from about > the 1870s (when Forster nationalised the schools by trickery) and persisted > through until (I suggest) the 1970/80s. > > On these matters of welfarism, I suppose we'll have to leave our discussion > hanging in the air as usual! > > Keith > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -------------- > Keith Hudson,6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England > Tel:01225 312622/444881; Fax:01225 447727; E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ________________________________________________________________________ -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) <![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/
