Introduction

Over the last twenty-five years, there has developed a vibrant community of economists who label themselves as Post Keynesians. This group of economists lays claim to a pedigree that includes Keynes, Kalecki, Kaldor, and Joan Robinson. It also has the beginnings of an institutional base, as reflected in such journals as the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, The Cambridge Journal of Economics, Metroeconomica, and the Review of Political Economy. However, despite this institutional progress, Post Keynesians are often accused of lacking intellectual coherence, and of representing a collection of idiosyncratic theories that are united only in their criticism of the mainstream. This perception of Post Keynesian economics is fostered in part by the absence of comprehensive formalizations of Post Keynesian theory. The current book is intended to fill this lacuna. However, though seeking to illuminate the intellectually consistent structure that girds Post Keynesian economics, the book is not intended as a textbook.— at least of the type found in the mainstream, where textbooks represent canonical statements. At this stage of the Post Keynesian program it is too early for such a statement, and in addition, the epistemological foundations of Post Keynesianism discourage the formation of such overwhelming unanimity even amongst Post Keynesians.