DANGEROUS IDEAS

<p><em>Dangerous Ideas</em> is a short (124 pages) study in the history of modern macroeconomics. At its core is John Maynard Keynes' <em>The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money</em> arguably the twentieth century's most influential economics text. Keynes' book was a response to the perceived failure of contemporary economic theory - the 'classical' orthodoxy - to explain adequately the high and persistent unemployment that characterised the interwar developed economies. In turn his <em>General Theory</em> invited from sympathisers and critics alike responses that have determined the development of competing macroeconomic ideas up to the present time and their application to economic policymaking - ideas both powerful and 'dangerous for good or evil.' The contemporary history of the United Kingdom economy provides a context for theoretical developments.</p>