Since there seems to be a few book recommendations here, let me recommend this one:
The Worldly Philosophers : The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers
You can thank me later!
With respect to Keyes, he was a highly intelligent economist and one who was interested in the betterment of society. He was also an elitist and didn’t care much for the messiness of the market. Well, at least not at the commoners level.
His recommendations during the period of the Great Depression where correct and exogenous government spending led by FDR (plus the war of course) put the US on a path of prosperity the likes of which had never been seen before. The New Deal also ushered in a host of socialistic government programs which have grown increasingly onerous over time. However, it’s not exactly fair to blame Keynes for that. Though he offered a simple solution any power hungry politician would love, he himself, after much of his theory was put into practice in the post war years said, “I am not a Keynesian”.
President Bush is implementing classic Keynes policies today. Allowing the government to go into deficit spending during a war and economic malaise is exactly what John Maynard would have suggested. And despite my claim as an amateur economist of the Austrian School, I would conclude that Keyes had the better answer during these times than Hayek. However, if the government would only follow Hayek’s advice in the first place, we would have so many economic issues that need to be addressed by the government in the first place!