Keynes: Contemporary Responses to the General Theory

'Roger Backhouse is to be congratulated for bringing together this collection of reviews of Keynes's General Theory, the most influential book in economics published this century. This collection shows how individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just economists, tried to make sense of the book and its policy implications. It is an important addition to any library collection.'- D. E. Moggridge, author of Maynard Keynes: An Economist's BiographyKeynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (published February 1936) is probably the most influential and controversial economics book of the twentieth century. In it, Keynes claimed to have undermined the foundations of orthodox economics and to have developed a radically new way of thinking about unemployment. Some (often young) economists took up Keynesan ideas with missionary zeal, whilst others (often older) were very hostile. There was also intense controversy over what Keynes was actually saying. This volume brings together 40 of the reviews published before the end of 1936, showing how a wide range of economists and political and literary figures responded to the book. It shows the variety and intensity of the reactions evoked by Keynes. Because they are all very early reviews, they ante-date the articles (notably by J. R. Hicks) that appeared early in 1937 and which provided the framework (the so-called IS-LM model) through which economists have come to interpret Keynes's ideas. We have, therefore, perspectives on Keynesian economics that are untainted by the work of subsequent interpreters.—40 early reviews of Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in newspapers, professional and academic journals, during 1936 —includes materials from inaccessible newspapers and journals —features a readable, non-technical introduction