Mario A. Cedrini

The Economic Problem of Happiness: Keynes on Happiness and Economics

By stressing the substantial continuity of vision between John Maynard Keynes’s early unpublished essays and his more mature writings, the paper discusses Keynes’s ethics and focuses on his thoughts about happiness. In particular, we emphasize the anti-utilitarianism of Keynes’s vision and his belief that material wealth is but a precondition to enjoy the possibilities of a good life, and direct attention to problems of incommensurability raised by the multidimensional nature of happiness as considered by Keynes. We then argue that the rediscovery of Keynes’s legacy in this respect may be a precious counterweight to the most controversial aspects of today’s happiness research.

Further issues on the Keynes–Hume connection relating to the theory of financial markets in the General Theory

Abstract A basic presupposition of the rediscovery, in the times of the crisis, of chapter 12 of the General Theory is that Keyness treatment of financial markets, and particularly the use of the notion of convention, represents a crucial novelty in both his economics and philosophy. The article offers complicating remarks to critically discuss this interpretation. In particular, we analyse the complex Keynes–Hume theoretical connection in light of the Keynes–Sraffa correspondence on Humes Abstract, and emphasise the theoretical legacy of Keyness 1910 lectures on speculation for the analysis of financial markets in the General Theory.

On the Theoretical and Practical Relevance of the Concept of Gift to the Development of a Non-Imperialist Economics

There is growing awareness of the need for interdisciplinary research on complex issues, but also of the obstacles that historical boundaries between social disciplines pose to such dialogue. It is increasingly recognized that the somewhat constitutive autonomy, the progressive autonomization, and finally the “imperialism” of economics have severely reduced the possibility of interdisciplinary discussion. This paper is to be considered as an introduction to a research programme on the foundations of a non-imperialist economics. It investigates gift exchange as a missed opportunity for economics. It aims at showing that, by refusing to tackle the complexity of the gift, economics has not only lost an opportunity to develop a method suitable for the analysis of complex problems, but has voluntarily chosen not to follow a path which would have prevented it from colonizing other disciplines. Reintroducing the concept of gift into the economic discourse may thus represent a required precondition to produce an innovating discourse on economics.

On "fear of goods" in Keynes's thought

Abstract Offering a view of the other side of the liquidity issue, the paper elaborates on the concept of “fear of goods” in Keyness thought. It therefore illustrates numerous evidences of “fear of goods” in his economics, and aims to show that the notion might be considered as playing a quite important role in establishing connections between ideas that are apparently only weakly related. The article fosters an interpretation of the development of Keyness theoretical arguments and proposed policy instruments for both domestic and global economy, as reactions to the “fear of goods” of capitalism, which Keynes saw as an inborn propensity of monetary economies of production.

Keynes's 'General Theory', 'Treatise on Money' and 'Tract on Monetary Reform': Different Theories, Same Methodological Approach?

In trying to assess the content and significance of Keyness attempted revolution in economic methodology, historians have almost exclusively focused on the General Theory . By highlighting the legacy of the Treatise on Probability for Keyness economic writings, this article provides evidence of strong methodological continuity among the Tract on Monetary Reform , the Treatise on Money , and the General Theory , despite radical differences in the theories. We argue that the novelty of Keyness approach lies in offering a method of analysis requiring cooperation on the part of the reader, in the effort to tackle the complexity of the economic material.

Globalization and Keynes's Ideal of a 'Sounder Political Economy between All Nations'

This paper is a contribution to the elaboration of a narrative of the international economic disorder that followed the demise of the Bretton Woods regime. It therefore revisits some key episodes of the recent history of the world economy – the Washington Consensus saga and the widening of global imbalances – and throws light on the attempt made in the Nineties to construct a neoliberal global order entirely and exclusively based upon market discipline, with consequent shrinking in policy space. The article shows that the resulting “hyper” version of globalization is, in its essence, a complete repudiation of Keynes’s international economics, and discusses the enduring relevance of his vision of international economic relations and global reform plans to the current epoch of “gated globalization”.

Keynes against Kalecki on economic method

ABSTRACT In the past twenty years, there has been considerable debate on the “coherence” of post Keynesian economics, in view of post Keynesian economists’ ambitions to develop a paradigmatic alternative to neoclassical economics. Given the growing importance of methodological aspects in this discussion, this article addresses the differences of approach to economic theory between the fathers of the two most important strands in post Keynesian economics. We thus focus on Keynes’s criticism of Kalecki’s theory of the business cycle and the tensions between Keynes’s logical approach and Kaleki’s formal modeling. We show that in criticizing Kalecki’s theory, Keynes made use of the same methodological criticism (based on detecting logical fallacies in reasoning) he had employed to attack both the classical theory and contemporary “pseudo-mathematical” models. After illustrating these fundamental differences between Keynes and Kalecki about the proper way of doing economics, we draw some conclusions on the possible future evolution of post Keynesian economics.

From Theory to Policy? Keynes’s Distinction Between Apparatus of Thought and Apparatus of Action, with an Eye to the European Debt Crisis

The authors investigate the clash between general theory and practical constraints. They find in Keynes some answers to difficult questions.

Vicarelli’s Keynes (and today’s international disorder)

ABSTRACT The article speculates about the legacy of Fausto Vicarelli’s interpretation of John Maynard Keynes’s work in the times of a major global crisis. In particular, it puts an emphasis on those aspects of Keynes’s “method” that Vicarelli rightly considered as revolutionary in his Keynes, of 1977, as well as in other writings. The article then turns to Vicarelli’s reconstruction of Keynes’s early work in international economics (Indian Currency and Finance, Economic Consequences of the Peace) and reflects upon the continuing relevance of the philosophy inspiring Keynes’s plans of global reform in the Forties, also in the light of Vicarelli’s (Keynes-inspired) vision of the problem of policy space at the international level.

Shifting Boundaries, Within and Outside Economics

The article is a contribution to a special issue on the shifting boundaries of economics at an era of fragmentation. By speculating on the origins of such fragmentation, the paper introduces readers to concepts like economics imperialism, paradigms in economics, pluralism and interdisciplinarity, in a historical perspective. It also aims to demonstrating that, by accepting the challenge and responsibility of exploring the current era of fragmentation, the history of economic thought can provide the theoretical ‘glue’ required for the analysis of economics in a post-foundational phase.