Re: Keynesian State of the Union

["Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "pdavidso" <pdavidso@xxxxxxx>



> >===== Original Message From Clifford Poirot <cpoirot@xxxxxxxxxxx> =====
> >Or what. He is a supply sider. There is some similarity between supply
> >siders and Keynesians on deficits, but this is superficial.
> >
> >A Keynesian strategy would focus on deliberate incurring of deficits to aid
> >the states with their fiscal problems, while providing targeted tax relief
> >for lower and middle income families. Though some on this forum would
> >disagree, I would also argue that a Keynesian strategy would never have
> >"accidentally" incurred a deficit by large tax cuts at a time when the
> >budget was only precariously balanced. A Keynesian strategy would be short
> >term, with the deficit designed to disappear when the economy returned to
> >full employment.
>
> This assumes that with a balanced budget, private aggregate demand is
> sufficient when added to government demand (government spending equal to tax
> revenue) to generate a full employment effective demand.  Keynes, in the GT
> did not think that this was very likely. Thus Keynes conceived of the
> possibility of a "somewhat comprehensive socialization of investment will
> PROVE THE ONLY MEANS OD SECURING AN APPROXIMATION TO FULL EMPLOYMENT" [gt, P.
> 378].
>

===================

And your reply simply assumes and perpetuates the discourse of 19th century liberalism's
bogus distinction of the public and private realms. Investment is always already socialized
and, as the Legal Realists pointed out, the 19th century approach to the public-private
distinction is fraught with contradictions which had and continue to have insidious
consequences for how our system of property, contract, labor and tort law contribute to
deficiencies in effective demand and the quest for full employment.


Ian