How refreshing to see a mention of JM Keynes's book, that has become a financial bible for many, but not all,. economists. You may have noticed that Paul Samuelson another, but different authority, has just died. But have you also noticed that The Economist has started a weekly column under the name Schumpeter, another highly influential figurer who was critical of Keynes's ideas. His watchword was creative destruction - when enterprises fail, let them, something better and innovative will arise. The government's failure to follow this principle has been disastrously expensive. We suffer, I think, from another economic theory at the moment, neo-classical economics as advocated by Ed Balls, the force behind Brown's blinkered management as Chancellor. You may recall ' neoclassical endogenous growth theory' that Brown mouthed liked a mantra, without, I suspect, fully grasping what it meant. Balls was utterly dazzled by the flood of money from the City that powered the boom in housing, finance and services. These are withering without any thought given to a replacement - in fact the inept vote-catching attacks on the 'rich' will tend to kill of what remains. With apologies to Hilaire Belloc:
It is the duty of the wealthy man
To give employment to the artisan
But if you drive away the wealthy men
Who pays the artisan his wages then?
