Other People's Money

Abstract

Before Keynes, the general view was quite the opposite: economic slumps were supposed to be the invisible hand's way of punishing excesses, and the best cure was supposed to be a good dose of austerity, public and private. Only as a result of the Keynesian revolution did it become obvious to everyone — so obvious that people take it for granted — that the problem during a slump is too little spending, not too much, and that recovery depends on persuading the public to start spending again.