Chorus:
Which way should we chose? More bottom-up or more top-down?
The fight continues. Keynes and Hayek, Second Round
It's time to weigh in. More from the top or from the ground?
Let's listen to the greats, Keynes and Hayek throwin' down
Bottom-up is referring to Hayek’s view, which is more laissez-faire. Laissez-faire is a system or point of view that opposes regulation or interference by the government in economic affairs. Top-down is referring to Keynes's view, which is more dealing with the government taking control over the economy. John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich August Hayek were two well known economists of the Great Depression era with strongly opposing views. In the chorus the Chairmen Ref is asking the audience to listen to
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Hayek believes that the government has a negative effect on the economic growth and the quality of services. He suggests that “people work to live better,” which means, when the government allows there to be competition, people find new solutions to make their production more efficient for their own interest. He suggests that if the government stays out of the economy or have very little say, the economy will bloom to its full potential on what people demand and produce themselves. Hayek is embracing liberal views such as competition and self-interest as he believes those are the key factors that allow the economy to reach its full potential without government intervention. Hayek discovered and based his ideas on Adam Smith’s theory called the “invisible hand”. Adam Smith believed that the government had a negative effect on the economic growth and the quality of services and goods. He suggested that if the government stayed away from the economy people would be free to compete by finding their own solutions to make production more efficient. Hayek saw the positive and remarkable effects of this theory and he started to believe in “entrepreneurship” and promote ideas similar to Adam Smith.
Keynes:
My solution is simple, and easy to handle
It's spending that matters, why's that such a scandal?
Money sloshes
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Keynes believes that the government has a positive effect on the economic growth and the quality of services. In recessions, businesses and people tend to spend less money. He was against this idea and suggested that “it’s spending that matters” because lower spending results in demand falling and job losses. Keynes's solution to the problem was for the government to play an active role in the economy. If the government plays an active role in the economy, the economy will bloom and progres to its full potential. He believes that the government should stimulate economic growth by increasing demand through increased credit and public spending. Keynes is embracing liberal views such as economic freedom for the people to an extent in which it boosts the economy as he believes it’s the key factor that allows the economy to reach its full potential with government intervention. Keynes disagreed and strongly opposed Milton Friedman’s ideas. Friedman suggested the monetary policy, controlling the money supply, can help out the economy throughout recession. On the other side, Keynes suggested that monetary policies play a very little role in stimulating the economy and aggregate demand. He disagreed with Milton Friedman’s ideas as he believed the government should encourage spending and discourage
“The path to economic growth is not engineered by the government; rather, the path to economic prosperity is built by the people.” This quote relates to classical liberalism because it displays a ring wing perspective, which indicates devalued government authority in relation to aspects of individualism. Overall demonstrating the economic perspective that favours the absence of government involvement. It brings into question what the most efficient way to run an economy is, and what is the best way to manage an economy to maintain stability. Some believe that government intervention in an economy is dangerous because it adds to the nation’s overall inflation rate and national debt. Friedrich Hayek is an economic theorist supporting little
Ans. Adam Smith trusted that in Laissez Faire framework government does not meddle in the activity of the economy and Smith said that economy will accomplish the best useful for the best number however this is just conceivable if everybody takes after self - intrigue. Where Keynes' feelings for private enterprise were comparable as Adam Smith and Keynes said that legislature need to intercede with a specific end goal to leave the monetary droops.
Friedrich von Hayek views about government were the opposite. Hayek believed that in the pursuit of prosperity, society’s attempts at central planning will inevitably lead to totalitarianism. He believed that central planning was inherently undemocratic because the people of a nation would be subject to the will of a small minority, becoming a means for the ruling minority in service of “social welfare.” Hayek also postulated that socialism would be inferior to a democracy for assuring equality. The competition of the free market also would provide superior regulation to the economy because the market would adjust without input from any authority, unlike the coercive nature of central planning. Hayek stated that the only way to improve the
Multi-billion dollar corporations pay increasingly less to their workers so that capital will remain high. In today’s society workers cannot depend on making more than they expect because the Canadian capitalist system exploits workers. Many theorists can argue how the middle class cannot reach their dream, almost impossible such as John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes. Firstly, Galbraith influenced economic thought in a way that international corporations held the real decision making control in the economy, arguing that middle class individuals should also be considered into the economy to reach their goal of affluence. Additionally, he believed that more government involvement and regulation policies for the economy should be imposed, to help improve society and diminish poverty. For instance, a high production rate in consumer goods including automobiles and televisions in abundance to public goods including schools, hospitals and parks being short in supply. In contrast to Galbraith, Milton Friedman argued against government intervention in the free-market economy, believing that the government intervention resulted in price inflation and increased public debt. Friedman argued the most important way into maintaining a healthy economy for all classes is to regulate the supply of money in circulation known as monetarism. Furthermore, John Maynard Keynes, a historical economist during the Great Depression, recognized the importance of government spending to combat economic downturns including the Great Depression. Keynes explained the importance of investment in maintaining high employment levels and higher rewarding opportunities for middle class
Theodore Roosevelt, born October 27, 1858, was the United States’ twenty sixth President. Roosevelt was born into a wealthy and socially dominant family. Though he was a quick thinker and very bright, he was not very physically fit; Roosevelt had severe asthma attacks as a youth. (Andrews) Roosevelt attended Harvard College starting with a science major, but his eventual majors were law and politics. After graduating Harvard in 1880, Roosevelt married his first wife, had his first child, and lost his wife two weeks after the birth of their daughter on Valentines day 1884. He had also begun his career in politics, joining the Republican Party when they were treated like a private organization, having few
Unlike Keynes, Hayek, in his book The Road to Serfdom, points out that any form of government intervention is dangerous and leads to serfdom. He argued that central government planning leads to serfdom or servitude which destroys personal freedom. Society has tried to ensure continuous prosperity by centralized planning which leads to totalitarianism. For example, socialism was supposed to be a means of assuring equality through restrain and servitude whereas democracy seeks equality in liberty-personal freedom and economical freedom. On the other hand, planning which is coercive is the least method of regulation where as cooperation of free market is superior because it is the only method that can adjust our activities with each other without the intervention of the authority. Furthermore, he argued that central planning is undemocratic because it imposes the will of the minority upon the majority. In pursuing their centralized goals, they take money or properties of the majority thus, destroying individual freedom. In addition, centralized planning reduces the individual to merely a means to be used by the authority as well as, giving away individual’s economic liberty. Unlike centralized planning, an open society offers more personal and economical freedom even to the very poor. He concluded by saying “The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy remains as true today as it
Milton Friedman believed a free-market system, in which goods and services are exchanged and controlled by individuals and privately-owned businesses without government authority, was the only way to achieve personal freedom. Adam Smith, a 18th century philosopher and economist, held the belief that in a free society, the role of government should be limited to the protection of the people, the administration of justice through the court system, and the maintenance of all public resources. Adam Smith developed the concept of the “invisible hand” theory, which says within a society that is free of government interference, individuals can pursue actions out of their own self-interest, and the collective result of this
The aim of this paper is to discuss government intervention in the economy. Adam Smith, the founder of economics, stated that the free market is guided by the invisible hand, reduces government intervention and identifies three main functions of the government: national defense, administration of justice and public utilities. However, many issues emerged during the Great Depression, leading to the emergence of new theories about government intervention in society. Also discuss the role of government in a capitalist system and how Smith’s thoughts were misinterpreted in countries that undergone transition to capitalist systems
In his Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith celebrated capitalist society. The central thesis of The Wealth of Nations is that capital is best employed for the production and distribution of wealth under conditions of no governmental interference, or laissez-faire, and free trade. In Smith's view, the production and exchange of goods can be stimulated, and a consequent rise in the general standard of living attained, only through the efficient operations of private industrial and commercial entrepreneurs acting with a minimum of regulation and control by governments. To explain this concept of government maintaining a laissez-faire attitude toward commercial endeavors, Smith proclaimed the principle of the "invisible hand": Every individual in pursuing his or her own good is led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good for all. Therefore any interference with free competition by government is almost certain to be injurious. The division of labor is another crucial component of capitalist society. According to Smith, division of labor benefits society in three ways:
This is almost the textbook definition of money illusion, which of course classical economics assumes people are not fooled by. Still, Keynes ideas gained popularity and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal was directly influenced by the Keynesian point of view. Keynes held that the way out of a depression was to increase an economy's aggregate demand(AD). Roosevelt's New Deal contained huge federal expenditures and government jobs programs, all designed to boost AD. These programs, including direct relief, were paid by taxpayers dollars and the tax rates rose dramatically multiple times during the Great Depression.
How can monetary policy and fiscal policy greatly influence the US economy? Keynesian economics says, “A depressed economy is the result of inadequate spending .” According to Keynesian the government intervention can help a depressed economy through monetary policy and fiscal .The idea established by Keynes was that managing the economy is a government responsibility .
Furthermore, Hayek discussed issues occurring in the money supply of the central bank and problems associated with artificially low interest rates. Moreover, Hayek was a supporter of less government intervention and more economic freedom for the people. Hayek suggested that the economy functions more efficiently when the people are provided with the freedom to make choices, a free market approach (Econedlink). The PBS “Commanding Heights” segment disclosed that Hayek believed that a competitive system would at some point “work itself out” (PBS Commanding Heights). Thus, there
Keynesianism and monetarism are both ways to stabilize the economy and promote growth when need. In keynesianism, government uses fiscal policy which is a list of policies that government spending and taxing can be used to improve the performance of an economy. The government produces stabilization by taxing and
With America in recovery from the attacks on our freedom and our economy, many wonder if we will return to phase one (expansion) and how long it will take to reach phase two (recession) again. The Keynesian Theorists of America believe that the government should actively pursue Monetary policies (enacted by the Federal Reserve Bank) and Fiscal policies (enacted by Congress) to reach adjustments to price, employment, and growth levels. In our full market economy, we must use these economic policies to control aggregate demand. When these policies are used to stimulate the economy during a recession, it is said that the government is pursuing expansionary economic policies.
The U.S. never fully recovered from the Great Depression until the government employed the use of Keynes Economics. John Maynard Keynes was a British economist whose ideas and theories have greatly influenced the practice of modern economics as well as the economic policies of governments worldwide. He believed that in times when the economy slowed down or encountered declines, people would not spend as much money and therefore the economy would steadily decline until a depression occurred. He proposed that if the government injected money into the economy, it would help stimulate consumers to purchase more and firms would produce more as a result, in a continuous cycle. This cycle is called the multiplier effect. Keynes ideas have