How can we restore the generality of the General Theory?

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, I tackle the key issue raised by Pasinetti, namely why Keynes failed to accomplish his revolution and build a unifying ‘monetary theory of production’ framework. I argue that this occurred because, following his Marshallian background, he adopted an oversimplified view of the structure of theories, a problem which, following Leontief, might be labelled as ‘implicit theorising’ (IT). By making a comparison between the General Theory and standard macroeconomics based on Lakatos’s ‘research programme’ notion, this paper explores IT in a systematic fashion and stresses two key points. First, Keynes did not attack the ‘true’ orthodox postulates but only the conclusions deriving from them. Secondly, he failed to articulate his own research programme effectively. Based on these points, the paper concludes that filling such gaps in Keynes’s theory is the precondition for restoring his generality claim.