Struggle over the Keynesian Heritage

Since World War II, economists have struggled to understand the Keynesian Revolution and to apply its lessons to the modern economy. The heart of the debate over Keynes’ radical ideas has been whether they could or should be reconciled with the older, neoclassical economic theory. Post-Keynesians have insisted that the traditional belief in free markets cannot accommodate the dynamic and complex modern economic world. Neoclassical Synthesists accept Keynesian arguments for short-term economic consequences, but they believe that free markets still achieve the best long-term results.

The Great Economic Thinkers series is a collection of presentations that explain, in understandable language, the major ideas of history’s most important economists. Special emphasis is placed on each thinker’s attitude toward capitalism, revealing their influence in today’s debate on economic progress and prosperity.