The General Theory as a macroeconomics of power

The General Theory revealed a fault line in monetary economies between the interest of wealth and labour, and confirmed the role of class interests and power in economic and societal outcomes. Moreover, the theory and events over the last century arguably prove that operating the system in the interests of the wealthy both contains and makes dangerously unstable the overall level of economic activity. The practical implications are binary, and suggest a categorical imperative to arrange the system with the needs of labour paramount. As in the final chapter of Keynes’s book, the imperative is global in substance. In spite of the profound importance of these conclusions, Keynes handled very badly the political implications of his work. This chapter attempts to do better, by translating the General Theory into an account of the operation of power relations, and drawing out the implications for policy in the broadest terms.