Saturday, February 23, 2013

Rothbard, Mises and Krugman Endorse 'The General Theory' by Keynes?

Joe Salerno writes:
Classing Up The General Theory
Here is an image of the back cover of the Romanian edition of Keynes’s General Theory published in 2009. If you look close enough you will see that the blurbs feature quotations from Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, and Paul Krugman, in that order starting from the top. Rothbard’s and Mises’s statements do not refer directly to Keynes or the General Theory, and it is hard to understand why they would be there except to add cachet to the book. It’s just another example of the ever-expanding and world-embracing influence of the two greatest economists of the twentieth century.

For those new to the study of economics, you should know that the great economists Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard were both severe critics of Keynesian theory. Thus, it is absurd that they are quoted on the cover of The General Theory.

In the other hand, the third blurb on the book belongs to Paul Krugman, who is a Keynesian and bases his support of Keynes on a mis-interpretation of a babysitting coupon co-op story.

I would love to have an English translation of the blurbs. If anyone out there reads Romanian, a translation from you would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE

Jordan Ballinger emails:
Sara Maria (don't know her) writes on the LvMI Facebook page:

the first quote: “It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”
― Murray N. Rothbard

the second one- Economics is not about goods and services; it is about human choice and action. (Ludwig von Mises)

the last one - The General Theory is nothing less than an epic journey out of intellectual darkness. That, as much as its continuing relevance to economic policy, is what makes it a book for the ages. Read it, and marvel. (Krugman)

5 comments:

  1. Hilarious. Of course, this will just backfire against the lying publisher and spread awareness of Mises and Rothbard. Or maybe he is a stealth Austro-libertarian.

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  2. LOL. I love that rothbard quote.... The irony of it ending up on a copy of Keynes' GT is too much.

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  3. The General Theory is nothing less than an epic journey out of intellectual darkness. That, as much as its continuing relevance to economic policy, is what makes it a book for the ages. Read it, and marvel. -Paul "Alien Invasion" Krugman.

    What a load of bs. I have a copy and it is unreadable. The only thing to marvel at is how many people believe it's the gospel.

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  4. http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/02/paul-krugman-fails-hans-hermann-hoppe.html

    looks like we have an arrogant keynesian in the comment section boys

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