 WARNING: Be careful of some versions. |
| Review Date: June 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. A. Zinn, California |
The Management Laboratory Press (2009) and some other recent editions of Keynes's General Theory lack footnotes and an index (which would be handy for referring to Keynes's initial definitions). The MLP edition is also full of disappointing typos that seem to be due to inaccurate scanning. It doesn't divide the chapters into books I through VI, making Keynes's internal referencing confusing. One thing I do appreciate about this edition, however, is the inclusion of Keynes's prefaces for the German, Japanese, and French editions -- they give perspective on how Keynes believed his theory would apply to the situations in those countries.
It is a shame that there are so many editions of this book that are incomplete and/or contain errors from bad scans and a lack of quality control. Before buying any edition, make sure that it at least has Keynes's footnotes, divides the chapters into books I through VI, and has an accurate subject index.
If you try to read the General Theory, be ready for a challenge. It is a work of abstract economic theory written for economists of Keynes's time. It will seem strange and archaic even to modern economists because Keynes is meticulous about many things that we now take for granted.
To get the most out of reading it, I recommend checking out Paul Krugman's introduction beforehand. Krugman's intro offers the reader an idea of what to expect from the General Theory and it also presents a bit of a critique, outlining some successes and failures. It was written for a recent edition (Palgrave MacMillan 2007) and can be currently found for free on Krugman's unofficial online archive.
For an assessment of Keynes's magnum opus, I'll defer to Milton Friedman's December 31, 1965 essay from Time magazing ("We Are All Keynesians Now"):
"In Washington the men who formulate the nation's economic policies have used Keynesian principles not only to avoid the violent cycles of prewar days but to produce a phenomenal economic growth and to achieve remarkably stable prices. In 1965 they skillfully applied Keynes's ideas--together with a number of their own invention--to lift the nation through the fifth, and best, consecutive year of the most sizable, prolonged and widely distributed prosperity in history...
"Washington's economic managers scaled these heights by their adherence to Keynes's central theme: the modern capitalist economy does not automatically work at top efficiency, but can be raised to that level by the intervention and influence of the government. Keynes was the first to demonstrate convincingly that government has not only the ability but the responsibility to use its powers to increase production, incomes and jobs. Moreover, he argued that government can do this without violating freedom or restraining competition. It can, he said, achieve calculated prosperity by manipulating three main tools: tax policy, credit policy and budget policy. Their use would have the effect of strengthening private spending, investment and production."
(Of course, this was written before Friedman made his prediction about stagflation, which Keynes did not foresee. Regardless, the strength of Keynes's basic argument endures and, along with the contributions of Friedman and others, provides a solid understanding for many aspects of macroeconomics.) |
voodoo economics. A ouijii board is just as useful.
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| Review Date: May 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. Afton, Michigan, USA |
Rubbish, that has been discredited by history, if not scores of economists. This bum, contrary to some of the reviewers here, was discredited following the stagnation of the 70's, and puzzingly is being embraced again. The pursuit of something fresh and novel and "progressive" trumped, in Keynes' mind, sound principals and irrefutable historic fact. If you want to see the success of Keynesian economics, just see for yourself the rubble created from nearly all of the 20th century, from the early Progressive era of WWI through today---the Great Depression, the steady inflation since the 30s, the boom-bust cycles whipsawing more wildly with each cycle... And in contrast, observe the Austrian Economics at work during the Depression of 1920-21 when President Harding resisted the siren song of deficit spending and under-consumption theory, and instead cut gvmt spending, opend-up free trade, cut tax rates (especially corporate rates)---and the Depression ended in 18 months. Coolidge continued these great policies, and voila!---we had the roaring twenties, the greatest era of expanded standard of living, not just for the US, but for the entire world. Before the wild hey-day of Keynesian deficit spending and ready money and credit, America practiced essentially the Austrian Economics practices (although the theory wasn't articulated yet) and it begat the greatest era of increased standard of living in history---even greater than Great Britain of the 19th century (following her repeal of the Corn Laws' severe impediments to free trade).
I agree with the one reviewer, that if everyone read Henry HAzlit's "Economics in One Lesson," with its clear, concise writing to the layman, then they would never again feel that the subject of economics was uncomprehensible, dense and mysterious. I would suggest a great political philosophical text as well---Frederic Bastiat's "The Law," which is the political science equivalent of Hazlit's great classic, in its brevity and startling clarity. |
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