Abstract
In the concluding lines of his pioneering work, The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, Keynes speaks of ‘defunct economists’ setting the agenda for the ‘madmen in authority’ who believe that they ‘hear voices in the air’. In 1936 when he published the General Theory, the ‘madmen in authority’ he had in mind were Hitler and Mussolini (and perhaps Stalin). Now Keynes himself is a defunct economist — he died almost exactly 50 years ago. Today’s ‘madmen in authority’ are followers of the neo-classical counter-revolution, preaching the blessings of market orientation and the horrors of government intervention, strongly represented in the IMF, World Bank, and some powerful governments dominating the G7, all following the ideology of the ‘Washington Consensus’. The question arises whether the agenda set by Keynes is still valid and relevant today and whether the ‘madmen in authority’ unwillingly or unknowingly are still guided by it.
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