Political Philosophy I

Providing a detailed account of Keynes’s political philosophy is a difficult task, for he set no explicit scheme of thought down in this area. While political theory formed part of his early reflections, it never dominated in the way that ethics, logic and probability did.2 Nor did he have a contemporary mentor in politics analogous to Moore in philosophy or Marshall in economics. Nevertheless his ethical philosophy generated a specific conception of politics,3 and he was politically active over many years, assisting Liberal campaigns in many elections (including those of 1906, 1910, 1923, 1924, 1928 and 1945), and refusing offers to stand as Liberal candidate in 1920 and 1928 in order to concentrate on writing. He also promulgated conceptions pointing to an evolutionary, but ultimately radical transformation of society. Keynes’s politics, in fact, are worthy of a book in their own right, and the following two chapters can only provide an abbreviated account. Their primary concern is with his underlying political philosophy rather than with his day-to-day politics. Generally speaking, this philosophy remained essentially constant over his lifetime, any alterations being shifts of emphasis rather than fundamental changes of position.4