Tn economics, as in politics, bad times often inspire good books. Capitalism’s distress in the interwar years aroused the creative powers of a brilliant galaxy of economists pushed by troubled times into examining the historical and philosophical foundations of their discipline. Any list would include not only Keynes but many others such as Hayek, Rueff, Schumpeter or Friedman. It seems appropriate that today’s crisis should prompt a writer like Robert Skidelsky, Keynes’s leading biographer in our generation, to reconsider the philosophical doctrines and historical judgements that provide the foundation for the troubled capitalism we now practise. To reinforce the depth and scope of his study Skidelsky joins with his talented son Edward, a professional philosopher who has written about the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer. Thus the book can also draw upon the rich Idealist tradition ignored by most contemporary Keynesians. The Skidelskys take their lead from Keynes’s essay of 1930, ‘The Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren’. Here, Keynes famously predicted that in advanced econo- mies the growth and productivity of capitalism would be such that, within a century, a working week of 15 hours would be sufficient to sustain a decent standard of living in the entire population
The end of the Cold War has intensified the economic differences among Western countries. Current disagreements are frequently over how to respond to the recent financial crisis and recession. These debates usually juxtapose two contending schools: fiscal and monetary conservatives, and neo-Keynesians. Beyond their arguments over the contemporary crisis are more fundamental philosophical differences that amount to distinct world views. These feature bundles of ideas and assumptions deeply implanted in political and economic culture. Each carries its own prejudices. When these are not recognised and debated rationally, they become submerged icebergs threatening fatal collisions.