Abstract
John Maynard Keynes emphasized short-run economic concerns over long-run concerns. A quotation of his is often used in this light: In the long run we are all dead. The quotation seems to fit the situation when there is a depression and the concerns of policymakers involves unemployment. However, Keyness views on the unimportance of the long run stem from his university years and had nothing to do with the Great Depression. I examine his views on short run versus long run, the source of the quotation, and the negative consequences stemming from the change in perspective among both economists and policymakers concerning short-run issues.
John Lunn, "Let Us Eat and Drink, for Tomorrow We Die," Journal of Markets & Morality 20, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 9-22