This ideology gave rise to the New Deal and various other horrors of centralized government.Did more harm than good.People misinterpret the role of government in an economy and tend to believe that centralized government is helpful.Well,it usually is not.

Keynes was a Fascist whose thoughts about the manipulation of the currency are as hideous as his thoughts about the manipulation of the people. His views were based upon the assumption that if a government can ever gain control over the currency it can gain total control over the people...it is obvious that has happened in this country. Keynesianism was the primary force behind the policy of the Federal Reserve's Fiat Monetary System. Today, we pay the price of Keynesian philosophy, for the devaluation of the currency is almost complete and the cycle of credit/debt creation is almost to the point that the economy can no longer service the burden of the system. Collapse is inevitable in such a system! Under Keynes system of Fiat Money, today it takes $20,070.00 to have the same buying power that $1,000.00 did in 1913, the year the Federal Reserve Act was passed. The Keynesians have, along with the politicians, ruined this nation.

Another attempt to manipulate capitalism to assuage its inherent contradictions.

Alfred Maynard Keynes knows his economics.

Unfortunaly, Keynesian reforms helped maintain capitalism for a few more generations, but there's no denying Keynes brillance. Hey, if you can make capitalism work you must be a genius.

Proven failure. Yes, the USA had incredible growth while the rest of the developed world was in rubble or just starting to recover.

Keynes has done more long term damage to America than any single person in American history..

Please explain to me how interest rates, inflation, unemployment all fell during the 80's while the economy expanded and tax revenues nearly doubled after marginal tax rate cuts?

The greatest economist of the 20th Century. John Maynard Keynes did more to save capitalism than any other individual, with the possible exception of FDR. His ideas for ending the Great Depression were codified after his death as the rather awkward 'Keynesianism'. Keynesian policies made possible the 'golden age' of 1945-1973, which saw the highest rate of economic growth in world history. LBJ and Nixon wrecked the Keynesian system by paying for the Vietnam war by printing money (inflation) rather than raising taxes-or ending the war. Keynes expected governments to run a surplus (save) during good times and run deficits (spend) during recessions. Unfortunately, people have been more willing to follow the second part of his advice than the first. Keynes remains a highly respected figure to this day. Libertarians could learn a lot from this guy.

great idea! lets get into a bunch of debt and never pay it off. Yippee, we turned America into one big irresponsible teenager with a credit card that won't max out. Smooth move FDR.

Has it's place when used properly or can devolve into a mess (Smoot-Hawley Act for example). Keynes' General Theory was brilliant for his time but didn't figure in inflation. A much maligned ideal now, especially after Reagan's supply-side economists made a mockery of it. Still, you can't deny this guy's influence.

Failure based Economics.

So funny that, 30 yrs after Nixon said "we're all Keynesians now" there are virtually no Keynesians left. Of course, Keynes is the economist most associated with the New Deal and the idea that gov't can use deficit spending (on public works projects, etc) to ignite a recovery. A few months ago, the Democratic Party (so associated with Keynes) was railing about how it would be an incredible disaster to not run a GOVT SURPLUS during a time of recession. This is a complete nonsense of course, but it's nonsense that completely abandons the Keynesian nonsense they held dear for most of the last century. Now in the wake of 9-11, it looks like a whole mix of remedies will be thrown at the task of keeping the economy dynamic -- some Keynesian and (please oh please) some more supply-side -- nevertheless, I still find it amusing how so much of the Keynesian "conventional wisdom" is now completely ignored....