How has the world of economics changed since before John Maynard Keynes? Did his writings revolutionize our ideas, or did they merely reflect the major revolution which had already taken place in the economic structure? How are economic thought and planning likely to change over the next several decades?
Eric Roll is basic and clear in his study of these themes—and in his definitions. Economics, he says, is that activity which is “directed to the satisfaction of man’s wants—whether these wants arise from biological, psychological, social, or other compulsions.” It has existed barely 200 years as a systematic, scientific study and is, he says, a “child of the modern age, born of philosophical radicalism, of the consolidation of the nation-state, of industrial capitalism, and of world commerce.”
Keynes’s supreme achievement, Eric Roll believes, was in demonstrating that standards which apply to the conduct of an individual differ from those that apply to the aggregate actions of a large number of individuals, such as the state This premise—which has become a tenet of modern economic thought—enlarged our understanding of the whole economic process. According to the author the relative ease with which we moved from a war to a peace economy after World War 11-compared to the post
World War I experience—testifies to the success of Keynes and the “New Economics” in the field of policy. Other examples are the attitudes underlying the Marshall Plan and the present policies toward less developed countries, as well as the high level of monetary cooperation achieved in recent years.
The Wori.d After Keynes is divided into three basic sections: The first discusses problems and institutions of the economic order and deals with such topics as economic justice and the relation of individual and state in contemporary economic systems. The second part, on economic policy, describes the rise of planning and the instruments of modern economic policy. The last section examines international economics and the age- old problems relating to agriculture, the best way to help less developed countries, and the advantages and drawbacks of economic regiona 1 ism.
Looking ahead, Eric Roll anticipates that the general framework of the economy will stay much the same, with a trend toward greater public consumption in economically advanced countries. On one particular issue—which he views as a precondition for achieving all the worthwhile aims of economic endeavor - he Says the economist must speak out clearly: the creation of a one-world economy.