Keynes (1883-1946): monetary theorist as capitalisms saviour - the key issues

Keynes overriding goal was to save capitalism from self-destructing. The original diagnosis was instability caused by the instability in the sale price/general price level of money. The original cure was to control the rental price/interest rate of money: monetary policy. The latter diagnosis was underemployment equilibrium cased by lack of spending. The new general cure was to control interest rates, monetary policy; also total spending, total demand, fiscal policy; including deficit spending; and anti-saving policies taxing the income and possibly the property of the wealthy - policies which the wealthy would detest. As with Law, Keynes' embrace of the ancient minority view that money was a convention, largely a creation of the state, opened the door to alternative forms of money, ultimately to sovereign fiat money and now attempts to create private fiat currencies - bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, the control of money is too important to leave to private entrepreneurs.