Fatuous Sagacity~II

Till the Second World War, the discipline of economics was taught as political economy and the economists were basically political economists. Political science and economics have been twin sisters and were being taught together in universities all over the world including India. Development of the economics discipline radically changed in the post-WWII scenario when attempts were made to make economics more mathematical with the introduction of mathematical and statistical tools to explain economic phenomena and theories synchronizing with human psychology, sociology and demography

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Among modern economists, the person who completely revolutionized economic thinking and practice during the Great Depression of 1930s had been John Maynard Keynes whose unconventional ideas contained in his book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, brought new hopes of salvaging war-ravaged European economies. Keynes has been one of the greats, if not the greatest, of all the modern economists who have had a lasting influence in the world economy.

Keynes was the prime mover and guiding light for the Bretton Woods Conference which led to the creation of the twin world institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (The World Bank).

Keynes opened new frontiers of macroeconomics, especially Public Finance, and his ideas were translated into economic strategy and policy formulation for many governments. His economic theories and ideas are known as Keynesian economics or Keynesianism. His macroeconomic theories also came into action during the world economic crisis in 2007-2008.

Keynes had a chequered career as a mathematician, philosopher, civil servant, administrator, negotiator, diplomat, economics teacher and an economic strategist. The invaluable experience he gained from the British Treasury and the banks greatly helped him to formulate successful economic policies and strategies for the British government.

Ironically, this genius had been an accidental economist as his heart lay in mathematics (he graduated in mathematics) and philosophy and it is Alfred Marshall who forced him to take up political economy as his principal subject at Cambridge.