The general theory of employment, interest and money
by John Maynard Keynes · first published 1935
31% recommend59% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Foundational macroeconomics text covering employment, interest rates and money. Suited to readers seeking to understand economic theory beyond introductory courses.
Common criticism: Critics say its arguments are contested and some economic claims are dated or disputed.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Resource added for the Economics ?10-809-195? courses.
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I recommend checking out Keynes' opus The General theory of Employment Interest and Money. If it seems too daunting skip straight chapter 24 for a more general take before diving into the rest. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/keynes/g... If that first sentence doesn't…
on “Obama Gives Keynes His First Real-World Test” ↗…think you need to at least find some articles that summarize the basics. * Keynes and Hayek - This hip hop battle is a decent start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk then read Keynes' The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money and Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. * Milton Friedman's - Yes, read Capitalism and Freedom. I hesitated to include it as the guy's so good at making the case that it can turn you into a market advocate…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…recommend spending some time learning about basic macroeconomics before drawing too many conclusions about the government "literally making money out of thin air". You can get the kindle version of Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money for $1 [0] or pick it up from your local library for free! [0] https://www.amazon.com/General-Theory-Employment-Interest-Il...
on “Silicon Valley homes now out of reach even for big spenders” ↗Definitely You should read "The general theory of employment, interest and money" by John Maynard Keynes. And from the other side of the economic spectrum try: "Free to choose" by Milton Friedman. Probably, you should also pick: "This time is different" by Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart.
on “Ask HN:Economics Classics?” ↗- Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance was a real eye-opener to me. - Last year, I read both Das Kapital by Karl Marx and The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes. - Walden by Henry David Thoreau Note that these are classic works (Zen is the newest, from 1974), but they haven't lost their relevance yet. Zen is a journey in your mind, disguised…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored” ↗Adam Smith - Wealth of Nations Keynes - The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money Ben Bernanke - Essays on the Great Depression Robert Shiller - Irrational Exuberance Levitt and Dubner - Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Daniel Kahneman - Thinking,…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
on “Ask HN: Good books written before ~1900?” ↗Read Keynes' "general theory of employment interest and money" and Silvio Gesell's "natural economic order". After that you will have to update your understanding of money to the modern system of deposits being created through debt which is a simple result of money…
on “Resources to understand deeply how money works?” ↗…the money, without paying the labour cost, they would've been better off. (Or, they wouldn't have needed as much, meaning the money could have been spread among more families.) I recommend reading The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes. Chapter 10 discusses this in some detail. (While reading, keep in mind that John Maynard Keynes is not correct.)
on “Water is bursting from another abandoned West Texas oil well, continuing a trend” ↗…based economics - specifically microeconomics, which comprises the bulk of economics education today: Schumpeter - History of economic analysis Adam Smith - Theory of Moral Sentiments Kaynes - The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money Marx - Capital Benjamin Graham - The Intelligent Investor Galbraith - The Affluent Society Galbraith - The Great Crash Milton Friedman - Capitalism and Freedom Nassim Taleb - Black Swan Ron Suskind…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…tendency of mature industrial economies to move toward instability in the absence of large amounts of public investment. It echoed the ideas laid out by John Maynard Keynes in his seminal 1936 treatise, “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.” At the time, the global economy was mired in a deep depression, and theories like Keynes’s and Hansen’s offered an explanation and a prescription for the way out. In recent years, amid rock-bottom interest…
on “Entire German bond yield curve back in sub-zero territory” ↗I read economics at the very epicentre of Keynesianism (LSE) in the heady years in the overheated run-up to the Great Recession (1999-2003), but I must say that there was no sense of his teachings being in any way obsolete: in some sense, there was a critique of his orthodoxy (I remember an accurate quip to the effect that The General Theory of Employment, Interest, & Money was not general, nor a
on “Keynesian Economics Is Hot Again” ↗> "In his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, written during the Great Depression, Keynes likened the activity to a newspaper contest in which, “The competitors have to pick out the six prettiest faces from a hundred photographs, the prize being…
on “Buying Tomorrow” ↗You are invoking the famous, often-misunderstood fiscal policy outlined by Keynes. Here is the often-paraphrased text from The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money Book 3 Ch.10 Section VI [1]: "Pyramid-building, earthquakes, even wars may serve to increase wealth, if the education of our statesmen on the principles of the classical economics stands in the way of…
on “Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley” ↗"Pyramid-building, earthquakes, even wars may serve to increase wealth" wrote John Maynard Keynes in "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money " (1936, chapter 10).
on “The Lack of Major Wars May Be Hurting Economic Growth” ↗