Lectures on John Maynard Keynes’ General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1): Chapter One, Background and Historical Setting

Abstract

This paper puts John Maynard Keynes’ "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" into its historical context, both in terms of economic history and in terms of the history of economics. It discusses the post-World War I period as background to the General Theory, looks at the influence of other economists of the period on the evolution of Keynes’ thought and considers the parallels between the post-World War period and the post-Napoleonic War period, when Ricardo and Malthus were debating issues very similar to the ones with which Keynes was wrestling.

Keywords: Keynes, General Theory, Keynesian Economics, Classical Economics, Great Depression, Macro Modelling, Hawtrey, Pigou

JEL Classification: B10, B12, B13, B22, B31, E12, N12, N14