Compare and Contrast the Way Keynes and Friedman Approach...

John Keynes and Milton Friedman were the most influential economists of the 20th century. Friedman spent much of his intellectual energy attacking the legacy of Keynes, it is natural to consider them opposites. Their differences were, indeed, profound and so was what they shared. Believe it or not, neither won or lost: todays policy orthodoxies are a synthesis of their two approaches.( http://gecon.blogspot.com July 19, 2009) Some of there key differences were Keynes thought the great depression caused the free market to fail; Friedman decided, instead, that the Federal Reserve had failed. Keynes trusted in discretion for sophisticated mandarins like himself; Friedman believed that the only safe government was one bound by tight rules.†¦show more content†¦When this medicine was applied inappropriately, as it was in the 1960s and 1970s, the result was inflation. In 1969, economist Milton Friedman argued strenuously that only monetary policy really matters and that fiscal pol icy has no meaningful effect. Said Friedman, In my opinion, the state of the budget by itself has no significant effect on the course of nominal income, on inflation, on deflation or on cyclical fluctuations.Economists then concluded that it was a mistake to pursue counter cyclical fiscal policy, and the idea of fine-tuning became a derogatory term. (http://www.forbes.com, Bruce Bartlett, 23 Jan 09) Based off of the information that I have learned from my research I think that I would have to agree with Keynes. I think the critics of an activist fiscal policy forget the essential role of monetary policy as it relates to fiscal policy. As Keynes was extremely clear about, the whole point of fiscal stimulus is to mobilize monetary policy and inject liquidity into the economy. This is necessary when nominal interest rates get very low. Keynes called this a liquidity trap, and I believe there is enough evidence that we are in one today. I think that he was correct in asserting that ex pectations and confidence, which need not always be consistent with fundamentals in a world of uncertainty, can have a significant impact on economic fluctuations. Keynes said three things in the General Theory. First, the labourShow MoreRelatedManaging Out: the Public Sector in the Community Essay2672 Words   |  11 Pages |the two key areas in each |analysis of the two key | | |key areas in each |identification of |Adequately identifies |part. Able to compare, |areas in each part. Able | | |part. Confuses fact |assumptions and/or |assumptions some evidence |contrast and critique |to critique and evaluate a| | |with opinion and/or |limitations of context. |of critical awareness through|theories and models. 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