Commentary

The Most of the Master

– Matthew Walther, Washington Free Beacon, March 4, 2016.
Excerpt: When Carlyle dismissed economics as “the dismal science,” he could not have anticipated the glimmering pen of Maynard Keynes, who from the time he began writing at the turn of the last century until his early death in 1946 brought sweetness and… More

Keynes: Useful Economics for the World Economy

– Temin, Peter and David Vines. Keynes: Useful Economics for the World Economy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2014.
From MIT Press: As the global economic crisis continues to cause damage, some policy makers have called for a more Keynesian approach to current economic problems. In this book, the economists Peter Temin and David Vines provide an accessible introduction to… More

J. M. Keynes and the Personal Politics of Reparations

– Schuker, Stephen A. "J. M. Keynes and the Personal Politics of Reparations." Diplomacy and Statecraft. Vol. 25, Iss. 3 (2014), pp. 453-471.
Abstract: Some observers still regard John Maynard Keynes’ polemic against the Treaty of Versailles as serious economic analysis. In fact, Keynes continued to play an unacknowledged partisan role in reparation diplomacy during the 1920s. He suggests in… More

Keynes’s New Heirs by the Economist

– "Keynes's New Heirs." Economist. November 23, 2013.
Excerpt: For economists 2008 was a nightmare. The people who teach and research the discipline mocked by Thomas Carlyle, a 19th-century polemicist, as “the dismal science,” not only failed to spot the precipice, many forecast exactly the… More

The Great Depression and Keynes’s General Theory

– White, Lawrence H. "The Great Depression and Keynes's General Theory." In The Clash of Economic Ideas: The Great Policy Debates and Experiments of the Last Hundred Years. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
From Cambridge University Press: The Clash of Economic Ideas interweaves the economic history of the last hundred years with the history of economic doctrines to understand how contrasting economic ideas have originated and developed over time to take their… More

Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics

– Wapshott, Nicholas. Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012.
From W. W. Norton: As the stock market crash of 1929 plunged the world into turmoil, two men emerged with competing claims on how to restore balance to economies gone awry. John Maynard Keynes, the mercurial Cambridge economist, believed that government had a… More

The Modern Revolution in Political Economy by James Piereson

– Piereson, James. "John Maynard Keynes and the Modern Revolution in Political Economy." Society. Vol. 49, Iss. 3 (May, 2012), pp. 263-273.
Excerpt: Keynes understood capitalism to be an historical institution that evolved through different phases, with each one calling for new modes of theory and understanding. He wrote persuasively about the cultural and political forces that brought about an… More

Capitalist Revolutionary: John Maynard Keynes

– Backhouse, Roger E. and Bradley W. Bateman. Capitalist Revolutionary: John Maynard Keynes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2011.
From Harvard University Press: The Great Recession of 2008 restored John Maynard Keynes to prominence. After decades when the Keynesian revolution seemed to have been forgotten, the great British theorist was suddenly everywhere. The New York Times asked,… More

The Demand Doctor: What Would John Maynard Keynes Tell Us to Do Now—and Should We Listen?

– Cassidy, John. "The Demand Doctor: What Would John Maynard Keynes Tell Us to Do Now—and Should We Listen?" New Yorker. October 10, 2011.
Excerpt: Today, some regard Keynes himself as that academic scribbler, entrancing a generation of mindless followers. For many others, he’s the economist whose sweeping theory, shaped by a Great Depression, remains the surest guide out of our current… More

The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money after 75 Years: The Importance of Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

– Luzzetti, Matthew N. and Lee E. Ohanian. "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money after 75 Years: The Importance of Being in the Right Place at the Right Time." National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper No. 16631 (December, 2010).
Abstract: This paper studies why the General Theory had so much impact on the economics profession through the 1960s, why that impact began to wane in the 1970s, and why many economic policymakers cling to many of the tenets of the General Theory. We discuss… More

Keynes: The Return of the Master by Robert Skidelsky

– Skidelsky, Robert. Keynes: The Return of the Master. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009.
From PublicAffairs: In the debris of the financial crash of 2008, the principles of John Maynard Keynes – that economic storms are a normal part of the market system, that governments need to step in and use fiscal ammunition to prevent these storms… More

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

– Paul Krugman, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009.
From W. W. Norton: The New York Times bestseller: the Nobel Prize–winning economist shows how today’s crisis parallels the Great Depression — and explains how to avoid catastrophe. With a new foreword for this paperback edition. In this major… More

Contra Keynes and Cambridge: Essays, Correspondence (Collected Works of F. A. Hayek)

– Caldwell, Bruce (ed.). Contra Keynes and Cambridge: Essays, Correspondence (Collected Works of F. A. Hayek). Indianapolis, Indiana: Liberty Fund, 2009.
From Liberty Fund: Contra Keynes and Cambridge is composed of three parts: Part I consists of two essays, the first being a recollection by Hayek of his time at the London School of Economics in the 1930s, followed by his contribution to an early debate… More

Keynes: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the 20th Century’s Most Influential Economist

– Clarke, Peter. Keynes: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the 20th Century's Most Influential Economist. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
From Amazon: The ideas of John Maynard Keynes inspired the New Deal and helped rebuild world economies after World War II – and were later dismissed as “depression economics.” Then came the great meltdown of 2008. Market forces that the… More

Government Spending Is No Free Lunch

– Barro, Robert J. "Government Spending Is No Free Lunch." Wall Street Journal. January 22, 2009.
Excerpt: What’s the flaw? The theory (a simple Keynesian macroeconomic model) implicitly assumes that the government is better than the private market at marshaling idle resources to produce useful stuff. Unemployed labor and capital can be utilized at… More

The Comeback Keynes

– Fox, Justin. "The Comeback Keynes." Time. October 23, 2008.
Excerpt: We are all Keynesians now. It’s a phrase that entered public discourse as the headline of a Time cover story in 1965. Now it’s coming back into fashion. This does not signify that we are all – as was Englishman John Maynard Keynes… More

The Cambridge Companion to Keynes

– Backhouse, Roger E. and Bradley W. Bateman (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Keynes. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
From Cambridge University Press: John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) was the most important economist of the twentieth century. He was also a philosopher who wrote on ethics and the theory of probability and was a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group of… More

The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe, 1918–1933

– Marks, Sally. The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe, 1918– 1933. (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
From Palsgrave Macmillan: Sally Marks provides a compelling analysis of European diplomacy between the First World War and Hitler’s advent. She explores in clear and lively prose the reasons why successive efforts failed to create a lasting peace in… More

Affluence and Its Discontents by Jerry Muller

– Muller, Jerry Z. "From Keynes to Marcuse: Affluence and Its Discontents." In The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Excerpt: Though he thought a good deal about the issue, Keynes did not write systematically about the moral, social, and cultural consequences of capitalism. If Keynes’ head was in the mathematics and economics of Cambridge, his heart was in the London… More

John Maynard Keynes, Vol. III: Fighting for Freedom, 1937-1946

– Skidelsky, Robert. John Maynard Keynes, Vol. III: Fighting for Freedom, 1937-1946. New York: Viking Penguin, 2001.
From Publishers Weekly: “In the world of economics and finance,” Skidelsky writes, “Keynes had come to occupy the same position as Churchill in the world of politics” during WWII, even though his position as adviser to the chancellor… More

The Heresies of John Maynard Keynes

– Heilbroner, Robert L. "The Heresies of John Maynard Keynes." In The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
From Simon & Schuster: The Worldly Philosophers not only enables us to see more deeply into our history but helps us better understand our own times. In this seventh edition, Robert L. Heilbroner provides a new theme that connects thinkers as diverse as… More

Keynes: A Critical Life

– Felix, David. Keynes: A Critical Life. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999.

The Time 100: John Maynard Keynes

– Reich, Robert B. "The Time 100: John Maynard Keynes." Time. March 29, 1999.
Excerpt: He hardly seemed cut out to be a workingman’s revolutionary. A Cambridge University don with a flair for making money, a graduate of England’s exclusive Eton prep school, a collector of modern art, the darling of Virginia Woolf and her… More

John Maynard Keynes by Milton Friedman

– Friedman, Milton. "John Maynard Keynes." Economic Quarterly. Vol. 83, No. 2 (Spring 1997), pp. 1-23.
From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond: One colossus of twentieth-century economics assesses the work and influence of another. Milton Friedman argues that John Maynard Keynes (1833-1946) left two principal legacies. The first, to technical, scientific… More

Versailles and After: 1919–1933

– Henig, Ruth. Versailles and After: 1919–1933. London: Routledge, 1995.
From Amazon: Ruth Henig’s fully revised and extended second edition of Versailles and After includes a new chapter on recent historiography of the subject and provides students with concise coverage of the following topics: the terms of the Treaty of… More

Biography of an Idea: John Maynard Keynes and the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

– Felix, David. Biography of an Idea: John Maynard Keynes and the General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction, 1995.
From Transaction Publishers: The culmination of John Maynard Keynes’s thought and lifework was The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Here, placing it in the context of his era, David Felix examines the evolution of Keynes’s theorizing. He… More

John Maynard Keynes, Vol. II: The Economist As Savior, 1920-1937

– Skidelsky, Robert. John Maynard Keynes, Vol. II: The Economist As Savior, 1920-1937. New York: Viking Penguin, 1994.
From Publishers Weekly: Keynes (1883-1946), in Skidelsky’s view, was a practical visionary whose achievement was to align economics with changes taking place in ethics, politics and society in a post-WW I world cut adrift from Victorian certitudes, its… More

The Keynesian Revolution and Its Critics: Issues of Theory and Policy for the Monetary Production Economy

– Fletcher, Gordon A. The Keynesian Revolution and Its Critics: Issues of Theory and Policy for the Monetary Production Economy. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1989.
From Palgrave Macmillan: Fifty years after the publication of John Maynard Keynes’s The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money this book seeks to explain and justify the Keynesian Revolution and to defend Keynes against his principal… More

Keynes’s Monetary Theory: A Different Interpretation

– Meltzer, Allan H. Keynes's Monetary Theory: A Different Interpretation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
From Cambridge University Press: In this rigorous study of John Maynard Keynes’s views on economic theory and policy from 1920-1946, Professor Meltzer argues that some of Keynes’s main ideas have been ignored or misstated. While attention has… More

Keynes, John Maynard

– Patinkin, Don. "Keynes, John Maynard." In The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, Volume 2. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1987.

Keynesian, New Keynesian, and New Classical Economics

– Greenwald, Bruce C. and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "Keynesian, New Keynesian, and New Classical Economics." National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper No. 2160 (February, 1987).
Abstract: Much of the new theory of macro-economics that has been built upon micro-economic models of imperfect information leads to conclusions which are surprisingly close in spirit to Keynes’ original analysis. This paper summarizes the… More

John Maynard Keynes, Vol. I: Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920

– Skidelsky, Robert. John Maynard Keynes, Vol. I: Hopes Betrayed, 1883-1920. New York: Viking Penguin, 1986.
From Publishers Weekly: For Keynes, surprisingly, philosophy took precedence over economics. His personal system of ethics, worked out while he was a member of a secret undergraduate Cambridge discussion group, stressed the freedom of individuals to pursue… More

Towards the Managed Economy: Keynes, the Treasury and the Fiscal Policy Debate of the 1930s

– Middleton, Roger. Towards the Managed Economy: Keynes, the Treasury and the Fiscal Policy Debate of the 1930s. London: Routledge, 1985.
From Routledge: This is a major study of economic policy making in Britain between the wars. It provided the first full-length analysis of the early development of fiscal policy as a tool of modern economic management. The central question addressed is how… More

Keynesianism vs. Monetarism: And Other Essays in Financial History

– Kindleberger, Charles P. Keynesianism vs. Monetarism: And Other Essays in Financial History. London: Routledge, 1985.
Table of Contents: Introduction Part 1: Keynesianism vs Monetarism 1. Was Adam Smith a Monetarist or a Keynesian? 2. Michel Chevalier (1806-1879), the Economic de Tocqueville 3. Keynesianism vs. Monetarism in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century France Part 2:… More

The Political Philosophy of J. M. Keynes

– Schaefer, Roberta A. and David Schaefer. "The Political Philosophy of J. M. Keynes." Public Interest. No. 71 (Spring 1983), pp. 45-61.
Excerpt: Not very long ago, the triumph of Keynesian economics as the guiding force in American public policy seemed assured. But now, with a Republican administration committed to monetarism and supply-side economics, and with the Democrats suddenly… More

The Retreat from Keynesian Economics

– Feldstein, Martin S. "The Retreat from Keynesian Economics." Public Interest. No. 64 (Summer 1981), pp. 92-105.
Excerpt: A major revolution in economic thinking is under way – a retreat from the Keynesian ideas that have dominated economic policy for the past 35 years. In the decades ahead this revolution in economic thinking is likely to have profound effects,… More

The Dissolution of the Keynesian Consensus

– Dean, James W. "The Dissolution of the Keynesian Consensus." Public Interest. Special Issue (1980), pp. 19-34.
Excerpt: On December 13, 1979, the government of Canada fell. For just six months the Conservatives had governed with a parliamentary minority, and they were defeated on a vote of no confidence. The issue was their first budget – a budget that rejected… More

Models and Reality in Economic Discourse

– Bell, Daniel. "Models and Reality in Economic Discourse." Public Interest. Special Issue (1980), pp. 46-80.
Excerpt: For more than 35 years, economic theory – the skein of Cambridge (U.K. and U.S.A.) economics woven by Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, and Paul Samuelson, has been a powerful force directing economic policy.

The Keynesian Episode: A Reassessment

– Hutt, W. H. The Keynesian Episode: A Reassessment. Indianapolis, Indiana: Liberty Fund, 1980.
From the Liberty Fund: The late W. H. Hutt was a preeminent and persistent critic of the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes. In The Keynesian Episode, he presents a comprehensive review of Keynes’s General Theory, including the finest critique… More

The Myths of Reparations

– Marks, Sally. "The Myths of Reparations." Central European History. Vol. 11, Iss. 3 (September, 1978), pp. 231-255.
Abstract: Reparations after World War I can be divided into two categories: non-German reparations, which remain largely terra incognita to the historian, and German reparations, an excruciatingly tangled thicket into which only a few intrepid explorers… More

Democracy in Deficit: The Political Legacy of Lord Keynes

– Buchanan, James and Richard Wagner. Democracy in Deficit: The Political Legacy of Lord Keynes. New York: Academic Press, 1977.
From Amazon: Democracy in Deficit is one of the early comprehensive attempts to apply the basic principles of public-choice analysis to macroeconomic theory and policy. According to Robert D. Tollison in the foreword, “The central purpose of the book… More

John Maynard Keynes

– Minsky, Hyman P. John Maynard Keynes. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975.
From the Levy Economics Institute: This reissue of Hyman P. Minsky’s classic book offers a timely reconsideration of the work of economics icon John Maynard Keynes. In it, Minsky argues that what most economists consider Keynesian economics is at odds… More

Essays on John Maynard Keynes

– Milo Keynes (ed.). Essays on John Maynard Keynes. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
From Cambridge University Press: The twenty-eight essays in this fascinating and important collection may be divided into three groups: the first is concerned with Keynes’s early life and his relations with “Bloomsbury” and Cambridge, the… More

The Role of Monetary Policy

– Friedman, Milton. "The Role of Monetary Policy." American Economic Review. Vol. LVIII, No. 1 (March, 1968), pp. 1-17.
Excerpt: There is wide agreement about the major goals of economic policy: high employment, stable prices, and rapid growth. There is less agreement that these goals are mutually compatibleor, among those who regard them as incompatible, about the terms at… More

The Age of Keynes

– Lekachman, Robert. The Age of Keynes. New York: Random House, 1966.

We Are All Keynesians Now

– "We Are All Keynesians Now." Time. December 31, 1965.
Excerpt: Concluding his most important book with those words in 1935, John Maynard Keynes was confident that he had laid down a philosophy that would move and change men’s affairs. Today, some 20 years after his death, his theories are a prime influence… More

The Critics of Keynesian Economics

– Hazlitt, Henry (ed.). The Critics of Keynesian Economics. Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1960.
From the Mises Institute: Henry Hazlitt confronted the rise of Keynesianism in his day and put together an intellectual arsenal: the most brilliant economists of the time showing what is wrong with the system, in great detail with great rigor. With excerpts… More

The Failure of the “New Economics”: An Analysis of the Keynesian Fallacies

– Hazlitt, Henry. The Failure of the "New Economics": An Analysis of the Keynesian Fallacies. Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1959.
From the Mises Institute: Henry Hazlitt did the seemingly impossible, something that was and is a magnificent service to all people everywhere. He wrote a line-by-line commentary and refutation of one of the most destructive, fallacious, and convoluted books… More

John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946

– Schumpeter, Joseph A. "John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946." American Economic Review. Vol. 36, No. 4 (September, 1946), pp. 495-518.
Excerpt: Explanation is not far to seek. The higher ranges of mathematical economics are in the nature of what is in all fields referred to as “pure science.” Results have little bearing – as yet, in any case – upon practical… More

Lord Keynes Dies of Heart Attack

– "Lord Keynes Dies of Heart Attack." New York Times. April 22, 1946.
Excerpt: John Maynard Lord Keynes, distinguished economist, whose work for restoring the economic structure of a world twice shattered by war brought him world-wide influence, died of a heart attack today at his home in Firle, Sussex. His age was 63.… More