The Political And Economic Thought Of The Young Keynes

A century ago, John Maynard Keynes entered the Treasury to serve his country during the First World War, but as is well known, appalled by the terms of the end-of-war Treaty of Versailles, he abandoned the British delegation, outlining the predictable adverse results in the Economic Consequences of the Peace, published in 1919. Far less well known is his personal and political development that led him to be called to service even before Great Britain entered the conflict. Starting from Keynes’s early political activity, Carlo Cristiano charts the stages through which Alfred Marshall’s young pupil rapidly rose to be one of his country’s major experts on monetary issues. The very young Liberal Imperialist was soon to become a staunch supporter of the liberal government, strongly committed to Lloyd George’s 1909 ‘people’s budget’. Moreover, the good relations he had established during his two years at the India Office of London and his growing expertise in money and finance, made him one of the few who genuinely grasped the functioning of the pre-war gold standard, and an ally of the Treasury and the Bank of England in the struggle within the City for control and management of London’s gold reserves. Abandoning the stereotyped image of Keynes in his early years, so often described as a young connoisseur interested in philosophy and with little inclination for politics, this book sees his perfect fusion of political vision and economic competence in the era of ‘New Liberalism’ as the true wellspring of Keynesianism.

A century ago, John Maynard Keynes entered the Treasury to serve his country during the First World War, but as is well known, appalled by the terms of the end-of-war Treaty of Versailles, he abandoned the British delegation, outlining the predictable adverse results in the Economic Consequences of the Peace, published in 1919. Far less well known is his personal and political development that led him to be called to service even before Great Britain entered the conflict. Starting from Keynes's early political activity, Carlo Cristiano charts the stages through which Alfred Marshall's young pupil rapidly rose to be one of his country's major experts on monetary issues. The very young Liberal Imperialist was soon to become a staunch supporter of the liberal government, strongly committed to Lloyd George's 1909 'people's budget'. Moreover, the good relations he had established during his two years at the India Office of London and his growing expertise in money and finance, made him one of the few who genuinely grasped the functioning of the pre-war gold standard, and an ally of the Treasury and the Bank of England in the struggle within the City for control and management of London's gold reserves. Abandoning the stereotyped image of Keynes in his early years, so often described as a young connoisseur interested in philosophy and with little inclination for politics, this book sees his perfect fusion of political vision and economic competence in the era of 'New Liberalism' as the true wellspring of Keynesianism.

This fascinating book is the first to bring together and examine all aspects of the life and work of one of the most influential thinkers of the last century, John Maynard Keynes, whose theses are still hotly debated. It combines, in an accessible, unique and cohesive manner, analytical, biographical and contextual elements from a variety of perspectives. Gilles Dostaler studies in detail the battles that Keynes led on various fronts - politics, philosophy, art, and of course economics - in the pursuit of a single and lifelong goal: to radically transform society to create a better world, a world pacified and freed from the neurotic pursuit of financial wealth and economic rentability, with art at its pinnacle. Containing detailed presentations of the Bloomsbury group and the political history of Great Britain, Keynes and his Battles is an essential reference to this most important of 20th century figures whose central message remains as topical today as it ever was. The study also contains a unique chronology of Keynes¿s life and historical events, portraits of Keynes by his friends and contemporaries, as well as a full bibliography of all his books, chapters contributed to books, journal articles and reviews. Scholars, students and researchers of economics - the history of economic thought in particular - political science, sociology, history, philosophy and the history of arts will find this an absorbing and revealing work. The book should also interest journalists, decision makers in society and all those who are preoccupied by the problems of our time.

A century ago, John Maynard Keynes entered the Treasury to serve his country during the First World War, but as is well known, appalled by the terms of the end-of-war Treaty of Versailles, he abandoned the British delegation, outlining the predictable adverse results in the Economic Consequences of the Peace, published in 1919. Far less well known is his personal and political development that led him to be called to service even before Great Britain entered the conflict. Starting from Keynes’s early political activity, Carlo Cristiano charts the stages through which Alfred Marshall’s young pupil rapidly rose to be one of his country’s major experts on monetary issues. The very young Liberal Imperialist was soon to become a staunch supporter of the liberal government, strongly committed to Lloyd George’s 1909 ‘people’s budget’. Moreover, the good relations he had established during his two years at the India Office of London and his growing expertise in money and finance, made him one of the few who genuinely grasped the functioning of the pre-war gold standard, and an ally of the Treasury and the Bank of England in the struggle within the City for control and management of London’s gold reserves. Abandoning the stereotyped image of Keynes in his early years, so often described as a young connoisseur interested in philosophy and with little inclination for politics, this book sees his perfect fusion of political vision and economic competence in the era of ‘New Liberalism’ as the true wellspring of Keynesianism.

John Maynard Keynes, then a rising young economist, participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as chief representative of the British Treasury and advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He resigned after desperately trying and failing to reduce the huge demands for reparations being made on Germany. The Economic Consequences of the Peace is Keynes' brilliant and prophetic analysis of the effects that the peace treaty would have both on Germany and, even more fatefully, the world.

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is a central thinker of the twentieth century, not just an economic theorist and statesman, but also in economics, philosophy, politics, and culture. In this Very Short Introduction Lord Skidelsky, a renowned biographer of Keynes, explores his ethical and practical philosophy, his monetary thought, and provides an insight into his life and works. In the recent financial crisis Keynes's theories have become more timely than ever, and remain at the centre of political and economic discussion. With a look at his major works and his contribution to twentieth-century economic thought, Skidelsky considers Keynes's legacy on today's society. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This book combines historical and policy-oriented perspectives on the relevance of the Keynesian approach for economic theory, policy, and crisis analysis. The first part focuses on historical, theoretical, and methodological issues, and puts them in context with current developments. The second part focuses on the application of the Keynesian approach to modeling the economy, policy-making, and analyzing the ongoing crisis of the early 21st century. Bringing together contributions by leading macroeconomists such as Laidler, Cukierman, Colander and Boyer, and leading historians of economics such as Hollander, Boianovsky, Marcuzzo, Dimand, Witztum, Young, deVroey and Arnon, the book offers a comprehensive overview of Keynesian economics today. One of the book’s most essential features are the commentaries on the papers, which promote a cross-fertilization between macroeconomists and historians of economics, providing, in conjunction with the papers themselves, a balanced outlook on the current relevance of Keynesian economics.

This essay explores the ideas of statesman John Maynard Keynes, describing how he formulated a new system of political economy, as different and inspiring as the political economies of Adam Smith or Karl Marx.