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Great list. I'd have moved Keynes up a couple of notches on the list, but then I've also been blasted by Freepers who think Keynes was a good economist. All in all, I'm glad I stand with Human Events on the matter.

I'd have moved Keynes up a couple of notches on the list, but then I've also been blasted by Freepers who think Keynes was a good economist.

Lots of bright people posit theories which turn out to be incorrect. I don't know that he was a great economist, but he was no dummy.

"Great list. I'd have moved Keynes up a couple of notches on the list, but then I've also been blasted by Freepers who think Keynes was a good economist."

I'm with you. Keynes is the father of political interventionism in western economies. He is the one who gave every politician the idea that they could "fix" an economy by meddling in it. All one can say for him is he wasn't as bad a Marx. Astonishing that Freepers would think his ideas sane.

Keynes never recommended expanding government indefinitely by deficits. Our "Keynesians" somehow forget the other side of his prescriptions - Cut Spending in times of expansions. Most who are so disturbed by Keynes have not read this book nor do they quite grasp the fact that he was responding to a collapse which seemed to resist the classical school's solutions. Thus, much of the General Theory is devoted to trying to figure out why those solutions were ineffective.

Nazi Germany's economic policies were not based upon Keynes' suggestions since there was not that much new in them as regards government spending. Public works had long been justified (and used) as anti-recessionary cures. But in times past recovery was allowed by the existence of flexible wages. Keynes pointed out that Unions now prevented wage reductions and therefore impended recovery.

There is no way to justify placing this book on such a list since governments do not implement its suggestions.
Only superficial writers about economics like journalists believe we have had "Keynesian" policies.