The General Theory

Discussions on how to plan for the future often reveal a hunger for theories and models which can provide us with all the answers. There seems to be an overwhelming need to wrap up observations, experiences, and anecdotes into neat packages of elegant thought.

John Maynard Keynes wrote ‘The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money’ in 1935, and a lifetime later it remains an important and influential work. Keynes had a profound impact on the way in which governments approach economic problems. Even those who disagree with him find that his work defines the framework for their dissent.

However, even Keynes embraced doubt. In his preface he wrote:

‘The writer of a book such as this, treading along unfamiliar paths, is extremely dependent on criticism and conversation if he is to avoid an undue proportion of mistakes. It is astonishing what foolish things one can temporarily believe . . ‘

Such doubt and conversations deserve to underpin all of our work.