ABSTRACT
John Neville Keynes did study, teach and write about economics — but as an example of someone who nearly did not, he throws light on the probable characteristics of those who did not but nearly did. Alfred Marshall’s first attempt to move Keynes was occasioned by his own move to Cambridge, and his relentless badgering of his colleague on this occasion shows something of the gap between his enthusiasm and his available resources. Unfortunately, by 1900, Keynes’ indifference had extended to strenuous intellectual activity in general, to economics, to the future of Cambridge economics, to economics students and above all to the professor of economics. Throughout their length Marshall, the Economics Tripos and the economics students cannot muster a single favourable mention between them. In the light of this, Marshall’s insistence that Keynes was his principal ally can only be seen as the wishful thinking of an isolated and disappointed man.
