John Maynard Keynes 1883 1946

[Front Matter and Metadata]: Publication metadata and archival information for Joseph Schumpeter's biographical essay on John Maynard Keynes, published in The American Economic Review in 1946. [Section I: Ancestry, Education, and Mathematical Aptitude]: Schumpeter examines Keynes's academic and family background, noting his upbringing in a distinguished Cambridge family and his education at Eton and King's College. He discusses Keynes's mathematical training as a Wrangler and explores the paradox of why Keynes, despite his aptitude, remained somewhat aloof from the movement of pure mathematical economics in favor of practical policy. [Section II: Early Career and Editorial Influence]: This section covers Keynes's early professional life, including his brief tenure at the India Office and his return to Cambridge. Schumpeter highlights Keynes's long-standing editorship of the Economic Journal and analyzes his first book, Indian Currency and Finance, arguing that his early views on monetary management foreshadowed his later revolutionary theories. [Section III: The Peace Conference and the Stagnation Thesis]: Schumpeter discusses Keynes's role at the Treasury during WWI and his famous resignation over the Treaty of Versailles. He analyzes 'The Economic Consequences of the Peace' not just as a political protest, but as the origin of Keynes's 'vision' regarding the end of laissez-faire and the onset of secular stagnation, which would later be formalized in the General Theory. [Section IV: Personal Life, Philosophy, and Diverse Interests]: Schumpeter provides a personal portrait of Keynes, describing his immense capacity for work, his marriage to Lydia Lopokova, and his success in business and the arts. He discusses Keynes's 'Treatise on Probability' as an intellectual outlet and emphasizes Keynes's vibrant, creative personality, which balanced rigorous academic work with a love for old books, ballet, and social life. [Section V: Monetary Reform and the Tract]: Schumpeter analyzes the 'Tract on Monetary Reform' (1923), focusing on Keynes's advocacy for domestic price stability over exchange rate stability. He notes that while Keynes still utilized the quantity theory of money (in its Cambridge form), the work contains early elements of liquidity preference and reflects Keynes's short-run, patriotic approach to English economic problems. [Section VI: The Treatise on Money and the Transition to the General Theory]: Schumpeter critiques the 'Treatise on Money' (1930) as an ambitious but 'half-baked' work that failed to fully convey Keynes's message. He identifies the transition toward the 'General Theory', noting the separation of saving and investment decisions and the influence of the Cambridge circle, including Richard Kahn's multiplier, in refining Keynes's new conceptual framework. [Section VII: The General Theory - Structure and Model]: Schumpeter provides a technical and ideological analysis of 'The General Theory'. He describes it as a macrostatic, short-run model built on three pillars: the consumption function, the efficiency-of-capital, and liquidity preference. He argues that Keynes's brilliance lay in simplifying complex processes into a manageable model that addressed the specific 'vision' of a stagnant capitalist economy. [Section VIII: The Keynesian Revolution and Final Years]: In the final section, Schumpeter assesses the 'Keynesian Revolution' as a sociological and ideological phenomenon that successfully challenged the bourgeois virtue of saving. He concludes by acknowledging Keynes's wartime service at the Treasury, his role in shaping the post-war financial order (Bretton Woods), and his enduring legacy as a scholar and public figure.