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Not sure what the scope of your sarcasm covers. But there is no such person as a “Keynesian statist” outside a crypto subreddit. Only a little part of Keynesia

by blake1 5y ago

Not sure what the scope of your sarcasm covers. But there is no such person as a “Keynesian statist” outside a crypto subreddit. Only a little part of Keynesianism involves the state, if you take a conventional definition of the theory. The only part that even involves the state isn’t all that controversial: people buying and selling is fine and self supporting, until the buyers don’t want to buy enough to support the sellers, which is the only time the government has to step in a buy stuff. So Keynesians don’t put the state first. And the people who do put the state first don’t like all that buying and selling on the open market. Really disjoint philosophies.

rsj_hn 5y ago
I think you are underselling both modern Keynesian economists and the original writings of Keynes, and not really following these through to their logical conclusion. Specifically, Keynes argued for driving down the rate of interest to zero permanently -- he believed this could be done in a single generation: "On such assumptions I should guess that a properly run community equipped with modern technical resources, of which the population is not increasing rapidly, ought to be able to bring down the marginal efficiency of capital in equilibrium approximately to zero within a single generation; so that we should attain the conditions of a quasi-stationary community where change and progress would result only from changes in technique, taste, population and institutions, with the products of capital selling at a price proportioned to the labour, etc., embodied in them on just the same principles as govern the prices of consumption-goods into which capital-charges enter in an insignificant degree. If I am right in supposing it to be comparatively easy to make capital-goods so abundant that the marginal efficiency of capital is zero, this may be the most sensible way of gradually getting rid of many of the objectionable features of capitalism." - General Theory Chapter 17 If you really follow this thread to its logical conclusion, you see an incredible arrogance and desire for state control that is a lot more than just "stimulating the economy during a recession"
- blake1 5y ago
  Your quote proves my point that Keynesians are the opposite of “statists” when he talks about “technique, taste, population and institutions” driving investment decisions. That’s what I want to see in my economy. Do you disagree with that? Not sure you’re reading the rest as intended either. This is not a prescription for the government to drive down interest rates to zero so that no investor makes a profit, ever. It just means that when sufficient liquidity, the marginal return on capital should be zero, like any commodity. What’s wrong with that?

by blake1 5y ago

rsj_hn 5y ago

I think you are underselling both modern Keynesian economists and the original writings of Keynes, and not really following these through to their logical conclusion. Specifically, Keynes argued for driving down the rate of interest to zero permanently -- he believed this could be done in a single generation: "On such assumptions I should guess that a properly run community equipped with modern technical resources, of which the population is not increasing rapidly, ought to be able to bring down the marginal efficiency of capital in equilibrium approximately to zero within a single generation; so that we should attain the conditions of a quasi-stationary community where change and progress would result only from changes in technique, taste, population and institutions, with the products of capital selling at a price proportioned to the labour, etc., embodied in them on just the same principles as govern the prices of consumption-goods into which capital-charges enter in an insignificant degree. If I am right in supposing it to be comparatively easy to make capital-goods so abundant that the marginal efficiency of capital is zero, this may be the most sensible way of gradually getting rid of many of the objectionable features of capitalism." - General Theory Chapter 17 If you really follow this thread to its logical conclusion, you see an incredible arrogance and desire for state control that is a lot more than just "stimulating the economy during a recession"

blake1 5y ago
Your quote proves my point that Keynesians are the opposite of “statists” when he talks about “technique, taste, population and institutions” driving investment decisions. That’s what I want to see in my economy. Do you disagree with that? Not sure you’re reading the rest as intended either. This is not a prescription for the government to drive down interest rates to zero so that no investor makes a profit, ever. It just means that when sufficient liquidity, the marginal return on capital should be zero, like any commodity. What’s wrong with that?