Keynes Was A Famous Economist
One famous quote, “In the long run, we are all dead.” It’s frequently twisted. An English economics professor attempted to correct this here.
Keynes wrote this in one of his earlier works, The Tract on Monetary Reform, in 1923. It should be clear that he is not arguing that we should recklessly enjoy the present and let the future go hang. He is exasperated with the view of mainstream economists that the economy is an equilibrium system which will eventually return to a point of balance, so long as the government doesn’t interfere and if we are only willing to wait. He later challenged that view in his most important work The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1935). arguing that the economy can slip into a long term underemployment equilibrium from which only government policy can rescue it.
The point? Keynes understood that the red arrow applies. It’s not coincidence that Keynes is also credited with this one.
The markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.