It is a caricature to suggest that Keynes was only about spending money but that is how the General Theory on Employment, Interest and Money has been dumbed down by his detractors and equal measure his so called supporters. The clearest example I know of politics trumping sound economics is the policy pursued by Gordon Brown and his so called "Golden Rule" to "end boom and bust" in the UK economy and get back to sustained growth - that over the period of the business cycle Government net borrowing should only be for investment and not current spending. But when things got difficult and by 2004 Gordon then started playing with definitions as to when one should measure the beginning and end of the business cycle. But proper economics has always been about political practicalities - which is why for instance the LSE still keeps the name London School of Economics and Political Science. Even whilst residing there Hayek lived in another world where there was no need for pragmatism
I understand it is fairly hard to find any examples of any Government who has pursued exclusively Hayekian economic policies. There have been many versions of so called "Keynsian" economic policies as this became the pervading economic orthodoxy encountering a range of economic situations post war which Keynes never himself addressed - because he wasn't around to produce General Theory 2nd edition etc . So Samualson, Hicks and a host of lesser economist could go off unchecked peddling there own distillations and concoctions as the whole thing got diluted
Re point about whether either of these serious economists were the inspiration for the management of the Argentine Economy in the last 12 years there was a Bs Ex pats discussion group that met up to go through K Economics is a few months ago with an Argentine economist which I couldnt get to so I'm assuming some sort of analysis and conclusion came out of that? Thread should be redirected there if anyone can point to the right direction
The Hayek v Keynes debate which has clearly kept the Bs Ex Pats enthralled is hereby closed and I can announce the WINNER
Hayek wins by a count of two silly videos to none.
Keynes lets himself down badly by not keeping up with social media - that's what comes from having been married to a ballerina and hanging around the Bloomsbury set
