John Maynard Keynes died in 1946 but his ideas and his example remain relevant today. In this distinctive new account, Peter Clarke shows how Keynes's own career was not simply that of an academic economist, nor that of a modern policy advisor. Though rightly credited for reshaping economic theory, Keynes's influence was more broadly based and is assessed here in a rounded historical, political and cultural context. Peter Clarke re-examines the full trajectory of Keynes's public career from his role in Paris over the Versailles Treaty to Bretton Woods. He reveals how Keynes's insights as an economic theorist were rooted in his wider intellectual and cultural milieu including Bloomsbury and his friendship with Virginia Woolf as well as his involvement in government business. Keynes in Action uncovers a much more pragmatic Keynes whose concept of 'truth' needs to be interpreted in tension with an acknowledgement of 'expediency' in implementing public policy.

‘This readable and lively book by the eminent modern historian and Keynes scholar Peter Clarke provides an important insight into ‘the historical Keynes,’ both academic theorist and public intellectual, by examining the complex relation between truth and expediency in policy advising from Versailles to Bretton Woods and in probability theory.’

Robert Dimand - Brock University

‘A sparkling and learned exploration of Keynes's beliefs about probability, truth, and expediency.’

Richard Toye - University of Exeter