Keynes's Vision for a Future Utopia

In this episode, we delve into John Maynard Keynes’s seminal essay, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren.” Published in 1930, the essay envisioned a future of prosperity and leisure for all. We explore his predictions, his optimism for the future, and the challenges that have prevented his utopian vision from becoming reality. Show Notes The New Yorker: “No Time” Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930) A favorite quote from the essay: “I see us free, therefore, to return to some of the most sure and certain principles of religion and traditional virtue—that avarice is a vice, that the exaction of usury is a misdemeanour, and the love of money is detestable, that those walk most truly in the paths of virtue and sane wisdom who take least thought for the morrow… We shall honour those who can teach us how to pluck the hour and the day virtuously and well, the delightful people who are capable of taking direct enjoyment in things, the lilies of the field who toil not, neither do they spin.” The golden age (2012) Keynes Predicted We Would Be Working 15-Hour Weeks. Why Was He So Wrong? (2015) Economic Possibilities for Our Overworked Grandchildren (2024) The Leisure Agenda (2019) Howard Zinn quote: “An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.” How have Keynes’s predictions fared? * Growth in GDP per capita from 1930 through 2022: * US: ~5.5x * Western Europe: ~6.5x * World: ~6x * Had to average the 1920 and 1940 values since 1930 was not available * Hours worked per week from 1929 through 2017: * US: declined from ~45 to ~34 hrs * UK: declined from ~43 to ~32 hrs Credits Theme music by our youngest brother Tate. Cover art by Arthur Santoro. Get full access to The History Onion at historyonion.substack.com/subscribe