Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics

Written by Nicholas Wapshott

Narrated by Gildart Jackson

As the stock market crash of 1929 plunged the world into turmoil, two men emerged with competing claims on how to restore the balance to economies gone awry. John Maynard Keynes, the mercurial Cambridge economist, believed that government had a duty to spend when others would not. He met his opposite in a little-known Austrian economics professor, Friedrich Hayek, who considered attempts to intervene both pointless and potentially dangerous. The battle lines thus drawn, Keynesian economics would dominate for decades and coincide with an era of unprecedented prosperity, but conservative economists and political leaders would eventually embrace and execute Hayek's contrary vision.



From their first face-to-face encounter to the heated arguments between their ardent disciples, Nicholas Wapshott here unearths the contemporary relevance of Keynes and Hayek, as present-day arguments over the virtues of the free market and government intervention rage with the same ferocity as they did in the 1930s.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452674933

Reviews for Keynes Hayek

[Jesus GF · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

HISTORICAL ECONOMIC CONFRONTATION

This book narrates, in a historical manner, the economic confrontation experienced between Keynes and Hayek from its beginnings to how their economic influence has left a mark on generations following their respective deaths.

Firstly, I will start with what I did not like, as this is a book that could score 5 stars but for some nuances I do not consider it appropriate. Firstly, for any student of economics, this book should have a much more economic perspective, that is, it should present the different thoughts and economic theories they differed on in a more technical way; this is not the case, as it is basically a historical account of their lives. While it is true that this way of narrating their confrontations seems very original to me and I liked it, as texts about the lives of these economists are not usually seen. Next, I will complain about the font and the spacing; I almost lost my eyesight trying to read it. I think it is worth making the book larger rather than making it so uncomfortable to read, not to mention that the references are at the end of the book, not at the bottom of the page as is usually the case, making it quite cumbersome to have to go to the end of the book every time a reference appears. Lastly, just some contextual and printing errors.

Once I have vented, I must say that I found the book to be truly marvelous in its content, not being very difficult to follow for people unfamiliar with economics. I think it is a very original idea and a very good book to see how these two giants of economics, Keynes, the father of macroeconomics; and Hayek, one of the most influential economists of the Austrian school and Nobel Prize winner in economics; confronted each other for many years and how their ideas have survived after their deaths, having a great influence on governments when it comes to addressing recessions, unemployment, or inflation.

Undoubtedly a great book that I highly recommend to anyone studying careers or taking exams related to the economic field. (Translated from Spanish)

[aevaughn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The prose is good and it is interesting learning about these pillars of 20th-century economics.