ABSTRACT
The point of this brief excursus into Keynes’s thoughts on revising and extending The General Theory is both historical and methodological. It reaffirms Keynes’s frequent acknowledgment that the work was not particularly well organized or expounded, and that it could be improved by recomposition (propositions with which many continue to concur).3 It also clarifies why no new edition appeared. In a broader context, it raises issues relating to the improvement of existing works. Improvements depend on notions of deficiencies, and notions of deficiencies depend, inter alia, on theoretical frameworks and intended audiences. What appears as deficiency in The General Theory to a neoclassical economist may appear as a strength to a non-neoclassical, and what is appropriate in a book addressed to ‘fellow economists’ might be quite out of place in one intended for the lay public. The relevance of these points will emerge below.
