ABSTRACT
The eagerness with which Keynes' doctrines were discussed by American economists, following the publication of his last great book in 1936, is to be explained as much by the urgency of the dilemma from which he provided a seeming escape as by the plausibility of the solution itself. The essence of the Keynesian formula consists in leaving private decisions over production, including those involving prices and wages, to the men who now make them. The businessman's apparent area of discretion is in nowise narrowed. Centralized decision is brought to bear only on the climate in which those decisions are made; it insures only that the factors influencing free and intelligent decision will lead to a private action that contributes to economic stability. The resulting business decisions on production and investment, though quite uncontrolled, will result in increased production and employment.
