E-Book Overview
Keynesian economics is not dead but is alive and kicking in the U.S. and elsewhere. However, Keynesian economics has caused the U.S. and other countries under its influence to suffer inflation, economic instability, excessive debt, overconsumption, and underinvestment on a serious scale. Meanwhile, many Far Eastern and European countries have rejected Keynesian-style economics and are rapidly surpassing the U.S. in economic growth. This edited volume is the first and only modern work to attack Keynesian economic theory, which is at the root of many of the U.S. economic problems. The contributors of this volume analyze the main tenets of Keynesianism--the multiplier and accelerator, the Phillips curve, the paradox of thrift, Keynesian development theory, progressive taxation, deficit spending and countercyclical demand policy, and post-Keynesianism. They demonstrate that it represents not only bad economic policy but bad economic theory, fraught with fallacies and errors. The work also offers a revisionist view of Keynes, the man, both as an economist and an investor.
E-Book Content
Dissent on Keynes
Dissent on Keynes A Critical Appraisal of Keynesian Economics Edited by Mark Skousen Published under the auspices of the Ludwig von Mises Institute
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New York Westport, Connecticut London
Copyright Acknowledgments The editor and publisher wish to thank the following for permission to include material in this volume: Extracts from Edmund S. Phelps, Microeconomic Foundations of Employment and Inflation Theory, copyright 1970, by permission of W. W. Norton Company; A. W. Phillips, "The Relation between Unemployment and the Rate of Change of Money Wage Rates in the United Kingdom, 1861-1957," Economica 25: 283-89 (1958), by permission of Basil Blackwell, Ltd.; John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, copyright 1973, by permission of Macmillan, London and Basingstoke for the Royal Economic Society, and Cambridge University Press (North American rights); Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, third edition, copyright 1966, by permission of Regnery Gateway; Paul A. Samuelson and William D. Nordhaus, Economics, copyright 1970, 1989, by permission of McGraw-Hill, Inc.; Franco Modigliani, "Life Cycle, Individual Thrift, and the Wealth of Nations," American EconomicReview (June 1986), Nobel Lecture, © copyright The Nobel Foundation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dissent on Keynes : a critical appraisal of Keynesian economics / edited by Mark Skousen. p. cm. "Published under the auspices of the Ludwig von Mises Institute." Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-275-93778-X (alk. paper) 1. Keynesian economics. I. Skousen, Mark. II. Ludwig von Mises Institute. HB99.7.D57 1992 330.15'6—dc20 91-27161 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 1992 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-27161 ISBN: 0-275-93778-X First published in 1992 Praeger Publishers, One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48—1984). 10
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Larry T. Wimmer, who raised my first doubts about Keynesian economics
Contents Introduction Chapter
1. This Trumpet Gives an Uncertain Sound: The FreeMarket Response to Keynesian Economics Mark Skousen
1
9
Chapter 2. Fiscal Stimulus: An Unwise Policy for Recovery John B. Egger
35
Chapter 3. The Falla