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

Felix, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560001496 ISBN 13: 9781560001492

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

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 boldly claims that The General Theory lacks logical and factual support as pure theory, but is an achievement of great statesmanship in political economy.

Felix argues that Keynes's ideas have misled successive generations of students and practitioners. He suggests that a more discriminating view of his thought can reconcile Keynesian views with neoclassical theory and replace the false synthesis that dominates contemporary text-books with a truer one. Biography of an Idea devotes four chapters to an analysis of The General Theory and an examination of the economic logic of Keynes. The author disentangles the work's fundamentally simple theses from its difficult technical pre-sentation. He shows how Keynes shaped his economic model as he did as an effort to win public support for sensible policies that clashed with generally accepted beliefs of the time.

Biography of an Idea is bound to be controversial due to the many cohorts of economists who have been trained in macroeconomics according to Keynes. It will be of interest and ac-cessible to intellectually curious laymen and students, and important to economists, historians, and political scientists.

Synopsis:

Felix (history, City U. of New York) examines the evolution of Keynes' theories, and argues that Keynes' ideas have misled generations of students and practitioners. He analyzes The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money and shows how Keynes shaped his economic model as an effort to win public support for policies that clashed with the a

About the Author:

David Felix is professor emeritus of history in the City University of New York. His research interests include the history of ideas, economic history, and biography. He is the author of Biography of an Idea: John Maynard Keynes and the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Keynes: A Critical Life, Marx as Politician, and other works.