Summary
John Maynard Keynes marked a hugely important turning point in the history of Economics. For the first time, Economics had become positive, allowing for differences of opinion. This brought about a chasm in economic thinking: differences of opinion could bring about real differences in the lives of many.Name given to British economist Alfred Marshall and his followers, who were also part of the neoclassical school of economics, such as Arthur C. Pigou and Francis Y. Edgeworth, which fully assimilated the concepts and methods of marginalism.
They are also considered to be part of the Cambridge school, although in other terms not relating to neoclassical economics, the group of economists which in one way or another collaborated with J. M. Keynes in the thirties and forties, partly in connection with the problems of war. These include Post-Keynesian economists Joan Robinson and Nicholas Kaldor, extending the group to the Neo-Keynesians John R. Hicks, Paul A. Samuelson and James Tobin.
Next, let us look at what Keynes’ thinking really meant, and why it was such a break from the distinctly aseptic, mathematical turn that Economics had been taking since the advent of marginalism. Keynes does away with the idea that markets are absolutely self-regulating, allowing for government intervention in case of market failure, generally by stimulating aggregate demand.
