- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Allen Lane; First Edition edition (3 Sep 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184614258X
- ISBN-13: 978-1846142581
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 65,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In the current financial crisis Keynes has been taken out of his cupboard, dusted down, consulted, cited, invoked and appealed to about why events have taken the course they have and how a rescue operation can be effected. Why have we gone back so emphatically to the ideas of an economist who died fifty years ago? There are three main ideas of Keynes' worth thinking about now. The first is that the future is unknowable, and therefore that economic storms, especially those originating in the financial system, are not random shocks which impinge on smoothly-adjusting markets, but part of the normal working of the market system. The second idea is that economies wounded by these 'shocks' can, if left to themselves, stay in a depressed condition for a long time. That is why governments need to have and use fiscal ammunition to prevent a slide from financial crisis to economic depression. The third concerns what he termed 'organicism': societies are communities not, as he put it, 'branches of the multiplication table'. This limited his support for the pursuit of efficiency at all costs. The ideas of John Maynard Keynes have never been more timely.
About the Author
Robert Skidelsky is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His three volume biography of the economist John Maynard Keynes (1983, 1992, 2000) received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. ('This three-volume life of the British economist should be given a Nobel Prize for History if there was such a thing' - Norman Stone.) He is the author of the The World After Communism (1995). He was made a life peer in 1991, and was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1994.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If anyone ever 'got' economics it was certainly Keynes, and if anyone 'gets' Keynes it is Skidelsky. Description of The Global Economic Crisis is a bit old-hat by now, so the start of the book drags very, very slightly, but as the critique develops and moves into proper exploration of 'The Master's' ideas in the post-crisis arena - with a good bit of banker-bashing too boot - the book comes into its own.
Not too technical, as has been suggested elsewhere. Indeed, Skidelsky is no mathematician, which is to the great benefit of the readability of his latest work.
Not too technical, as has been suggested elsewhere. Indeed, Skidelsky is no mathematician, which is to the great benefit of the readability of his latest work.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This provides some thought-provoking perspectives on, for instance, the collapsed credibility of the discipline of economics which failed to foresee the recent financial crisis- Skidelsky attributes this to a narrow focus on mathematics rather than the broader ethical, philosophical, historical context within which Keynes operated. This led Keynes to change his mind on the benefits of free trade after experiencing the trauma of the Great Depression. Perhaps wishing to have it all ways, he favoured an international approach to the world of arts which he loved, but came to advocate a measure of protection to encourage countries to manufacture their own goods, even if others could do it more efficiently.
Although this book inspired me to resolve to read a longer and more detailed work on Keynes, it left me feeling a little disappointed. The structure seemed disjointed, as the text switched back and forth in time, with sections written under subheadings in the manner of a text book, but without the systematic approach this normally entails. I was uncertain as to the intended audience. Surely a lay reader with no prior knowledge of Keynes would be confused by the half-explained theory, such as the role of interest rates in equating savings and investment, but not necessarily at the full employment level?
I would have preferred the key points of this book to be presented in a meaty essay, rather than have to tease them out of a somewhat unfocused book.
Although this book inspired me to resolve to read a longer and more detailed work on Keynes, it left me feeling a little disappointed. The structure seemed disjointed, as the text switched back and forth in time, with sections written under subheadings in the manner of a text book, but without the systematic approach this normally entails. I was uncertain as to the intended audience. Surely a lay reader with no prior knowledge of Keynes would be confused by the half-explained theory, such as the role of interest rates in equating savings and investment, but not necessarily at the full employment level?
I would have preferred the key points of this book to be presented in a meaty essay, rather than have to tease them out of a somewhat unfocused book.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Brilliant look at what's gone wrong from a Keynesian prospective and what can be done.Well written and thought provoking. Even I could understand some of the economic stuff. Shows how little economics and politics has progressed since the 40's.Its still all about greed and gullibility.I must get his biography of Keynes now.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fine study of the relevance of Keynes' ideas today
Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick and biographer of John Maynard Keynes, has written a brilliant little book. Read more
Published 17 months ago by William Podmore
Skidelsky To The Rescue
The Return of the Master is a brave, lucid and provocative perspective on how the western world got into this mess and how it might get out of the same. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Paul A. Alexander
Puts Keynes (and modern economics) in its place!
I was given this book by a friend to read in challenging my perspectives on how people were misquoting and misunderstanding Keynes during the credit crunch collapse of the last few... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Siriam
Scholarly argument for a return to Keynesian economics
The modern recession casts doubt on many long-held economic beliefs, in particular, the validity of free markets. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Rolf Dobelli
An Excellent Overview
I have always wanted to know more about KEYNES especially after the explosion of the current global financial crises. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2010 by Dead Cell
Back in Vogue
With Keynes back in vogue after a lull in his reputation in the seventies it's good to have an overview of what he was about. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2010 by Graham James Mummery
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