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.

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.

Keynes and the Classics Reconsidered is a collection of scholarly work re-evaluating Keynes's revolution in economic thought, both in the method of macroeconomic reasoning and in policy-making. This book brings together mostly a younger generation of economists to revisit Keynes's interpretation of the classics and its impact on macroeconomic theory and policy. There has been a considerable advance in the literature re-interpreting the classics and the early neoclassical economists. Most of the contributing authors have themselves been active participants in this reinterpretation. The participation of Robert Clower, an active participant in the Keynes versus the classics debate since the 1960s, brings a particularly significant retrospective to this fresh look at the record. Keynes and the Classics Reconsidered will be of interest to policy-makers and economists, especially those working in the areas of macro and monetary economics.

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.

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.

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.

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.