Is Keynesianism right or left?

["LYNN TURGEON, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ECONOMICS, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, ECOELT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ECOELT@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

	According to Stan Menshikov's June Newsletter, the new right-of-center 0Hungarian
government of Fidesz is proposing a Keynesian policy, something that Menshikov
has been advocating for Russia for a long time. They propose an easier fiscal
policy, more government expenditures on health, education and R&D as well as
reductions in social security taxes, income taxes and the VAT. They are also
proposing greater protectionism during the transition.
	In a recent post by Michael Perelman he claims not to have found my
reference to when Nixon (also right-of-center) described himself as "now a
Keynesian" See NYT index dor 1971, p.1753. Howard K Smith,one of four
journalists who questioned Nixon on TV on January 5th, asked Nixon after the TV
debate whether he was a Keynesian. He was now balancing the federal budget at
full employment although he was in the midst of his recession durung the
Vietnam War. There is no reference to this in the Nixon Library and I write
letters to both Nixon and Crowley but failed to receive answers.
	As others have mentioned, Reagan was a better Keynesian although he too
was right-of center. Oswald Moskey was as Keynesian as JMK in the twenties and
even joined the British Labour Party during the MacDonald administration when
he was a MP. When Hitler became a practicig pragmatic Keynesian (also right-of
center) Mosley took over the leadership of the British fascist party and broke
with Keynes. Skidelsky's biography of Mosley is must reading here.
	In the postwar years, right wingers here used the hyphenated term,
Marxist-Keynesian to descrobe Keynesianism. I would conclude that Keynesians
can be either right or left.


















obesian
ngarian
government