This doesn't really contain any new info, but a quick look at chapter 2 in The General Theory suggests that Keynes was using classical in a very loose sense. He includes Marshall among the classical economists and makes the classical theory dependent not only on Says Law, but also on the assumption "that the real wage is equal to the marginal disutility of the existing employment." This proposition can hardly be found in most classical writing. I suppose Keynes could have argued that Marx wasn't important enough to mention, as other classicals, notably Malthus, didn't accept Say's Law. Unless classical could be taken to mean something like 'received wisdom' Keynes' usage in this context is extremely sloppy and the lack of attention to Marx is just one instance of his overall inattention. Terry McDonough
