A Short Comment on Keynes

Josh Marshall | July 28, 2011, 12:23PM

Since we're talking about Keynes today and the new Era of Austerity, which I fear is quite real, I thought I'd put in my two cents. There seems little doubt that Keynes has taken a mighty hit. But my read of the situation is that the hit is almost entirely in the realm of politics rather than economics.

Of course, there's Keynesianism and Keynesianism. But I'm talking about the broad proposition of that in the face of a dramatic shortfall in demand following an economic crisis, the government plays a critical role as the provider of demand of last resort in getting an economy back on its feet.