by Brad rates this as a should-read. For anyone interested in Keynesianism, Post Keynesianism and MMT, the history of economics, or economic theory, it is a must-read. Conventional economists have apparently concluded that they don't need to read it if they even thought about, which most probably haven't, being under the spell of the "normal paradigm" in spite of its poor results empirically.Washington Center for Equitable GrowthJohn Maynard Keynes: Essays In Biography Brad DeLong Here is a link to download Keynes's Essays in Biography (1933) as a PDF.Another must-read from Brad. I think the very smart Jeffrey Friedman gets this… not quite right. The case for the empirical benefits of capitalism is very strong—but only if one is willing to remove libertarian blinders and focus on
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Mike Norman considers the following as important: Adam Smith, Classical economics, David Ricardo, Economic History, Economic Theory, Effective Demand, investment, john maynard keynes, keynesianism, neoclassical economics, saving, Thomas Malthus
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Washington Center for Equitable Growth
John Maynard Keynes: Essays In Biography
Another must-read from Brad.
I think the very smart Jeffrey Friedman gets this… not quite right. The case for the empirical benefits of capitalism is very strong—but only if one is willing to remove libertarian blinders and focus on eliminating the market failures (in distributions, in aggregate demand, in externalities, in information, etc.) that keep the function the market maximizes from being a good proxy for societal well-being. And once one has the market properly supported and disciplined, the philosophical discussion can commence: Jeffrey Friedman: What’s Wrong with Libertarianism: “Libertarian arguments about the empirical benefits of capitalism are, as yet, inadequate…From the Marxian and Institutionalist points of view, economic liberalism, of which contemporary Libertarianism is a variant, provides the philosophical framework for bourgeois capitalism. Its fundamental weakness is prioritizing economic liberalism over social and political liberalism, which gives rise to many paradoxes of liberalism that result in illiberality such as have been pointed out many time here at MNE.
Brad also provides another keeper Keynes quote.
Here is an excerpt:
But, above all, individualism, if it can be purged of its defects and its abuses, is the best safeguard of personal liberty in the sense that, compared with any other system, it greatly widens the field for the exercise of personal choice.Individualism as the pursuit of self-interest does not lead to the greatest good for the greatest number the spontaneous emergence of natural order, unless "natural order" is conceived as the outcome of social Darwinism. This result is so grossly unfair that overtime it becomes unstable politically.
Keynes is saying here that individualism only works as a guiding principle of liberalism if collective consciousness is sufficiently high, which is manifested in a society's culture and institutions. The fact that civil and criminal law are needed goes to show that collective consciousness alone is not that high presently. In addition, the level of social and political dysfunctionality in liberal countries shows that the culture and institutions of the society are insufficient to bridle narrow self-interest to the degree necessary to generate a harmonious society and balanced social, political and economic conditions.
This is a design problem.
Jeffrey Friedman: What’s Wrong with Libertarianism
More from BDL:
Three Books for 2017: Economics for the Common Good, Janesville, Economism