Keynes

Far from being a true measure of economic health, GDP is a misleading economic statistic that implies consumer and government spending grow the economy. When government spends, GDP increases.

In The General Theory, J.M. Keynes allegedly “discredited” Say‘s Law. Of course, Keynes actually debunked a straw man that was a caricature of what Say actually wrote. It‘s time to set the record straight.

Charles Rist was an economist of nearly a century ago who recognized the dangers behind President Franklin Roosevelt‘s attempts to demonetize gold. We are still paying the price for FDR‘s actions.

Belief in the fairy tale known as Modern Monetary Theory not only is endemic in US academic and government circles, but is also making headway in Great Britain. We are being forced to learn all over again the lessons of inflation.

John Maynard Keynes is often credited with presciently criticizing the harsh anti-German measures of the Treaty of Versailles. But, it turns out that Keynes was playing both sides.  

The central pillar of the Keynesian system is that spending drives the economy, so savings on a large scale will push the economy into recession. As Austrians know, that narrative is entirely false and fails to accurately explain how the economy works.

The standard Keynesian line is that the government can shorten recessions by using fiscal and monetary “stimulus.” However, as Austrian economists note, ratcheting up government spending only makes things worse, setting the stage for the next economic downturn.

After spending 25 years as a columnist for the New York Times, Paul Krugman is finally retiring from that position—25 years too late, if one wishes to be honest.

Perhaps John Maynard Keynes' best con job was convincing people that a growing economy needs inflation, lots of inflation. As David Gordon points out, however, Ludwig von Mises eloquently explained why inflation undermines the free market economy.

After spending 25 years as a columnist for the New York Times, Paul Krugman is finally retiring from that position—25 years too late, if one wishes to be honest.