J. M. Keynes methodology

Abstract

John Maynard Keynes is recognized as the most outstanding economist of the twentieth century. His theory has been widely known and interpreted in various ways. The normative part of his legacy is also lucky. Its regulatory recommendations were given special attention during periods of recession. His methodology was less "lucky". He did not leave a specific description of his methodology. There is no systematic research on the subject in the literature on Keynes's legacy. The article attempts to overcome this disadvantage. It inherited marginalism from Neoclassicism. Calling his approach "the nature of economic thinking", he used elements of the method of classical political economy. He developed and used a method for studying very complex economic phenomena, which includes: analysis and synthesis, a reproductive and systematic approach, direct and inverse relationships. Keynes ' methodology, enriched by applying elements of the methodology of political economy, allowed him to critically review the foundations of Neoclassicism and solve complex problems and difficulties that his teachers could not cope with. Mastering the Keynes methodology is relevant because it can serve as a tool for studying complex problems that have already been generated in the XX century! a century, but not yet sufficiently studied at the level of theory. This part of Keynes ' methodological legacy is revealed and described for the first time in this article.