Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy

by Thomas Cool

The economic record of this century may be judged with mixed feelings. Much has been achieved, but much has gone wrong too:

1. Two World Wars.

2. The Great Depression 1930 - 1940.

3. The Great Stagflation 1970 - the present (2005). [14]

4. Disputable ways for decolonisation and development co-operation.

5. The economic disaster in Russia and Eastern Europe after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

6. The environment.

Of this record, the wars are the focal points of attention.

Wars are disasters for the common citizen. Perhaps wars need to be fought for political reasons, but, an economist can express some doubt. In fact, Keynes wrote his General Theory with an eye to the threat of war: