We are all Keynesians now
Encyclopedia
"We are all Keynesians now" is a now-famous phrase coined by Milton Friedman
and attributed to U.S. president
Richard Nixon
. It is popularly associated with the reluctant embrace in a time of financial crisis of Keynesian economics
by individuals such as Nixon who had formerly favored monetarist policies.
in the December 31, 1965 edition of Time
magazine. In the February 4, 1966 edition, Friedman wrote a letter clarifying that his original statement had been "In one sense, we are all Keynesians now; in another, nobody is any longer a Keynesian."
In 1971, after taking the United States off the gold standard
, Nixon was quoted as saying "I am now a Keynesian in economics", which became popularly associated with Friedman's phrase.
The origin of the phrase goes back even further to 19th century Liberal statesmen William Vernon Harcourt
, who on the 11 August 1887, whilst giving a speech on The Labourers' Allotments Bill, remarked that "we are all Socialists now"
In 2002, Peter Mandleson wrote an article in The Times
declaring "we are all Thatcherites now", referring to the acceptance amongst the other political parties of Margaret Thatcher's
economic policies.
The phrase gained new life in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2008, when economists called for massive investment in infrastructure and job creation as a means of economic stimulation.
The February 2009 cover of Newsweek played on the phrase with the headline, "We are all socialists now," referring to the growing trend of American politicians of both parties to favor the centralization of power through the mutual expansion of government. Graphically, this was symbolized by a cover picture featuring a red hand (Republican) shaking a blue hand (Democrat).
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
and attributed to U.S. president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. It is popularly associated with the reluctant embrace in a time of financial crisis of Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...
by individuals such as Nixon who had formerly favored monetarist policies.
History of the phrase
The phrase was first attributed to Milton FriedmanMilton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
in the December 31, 1965 edition of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine. In the February 4, 1966 edition, Friedman wrote a letter clarifying that his original statement had been "In one sense, we are all Keynesians now; in another, nobody is any longer a Keynesian."
In 1971, after taking the United States off the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, Nixon was quoted as saying "I am now a Keynesian in economics", which became popularly associated with Friedman's phrase.
The origin of the phrase goes back even further to 19th century Liberal statesmen William Vernon Harcourt
William Vernon Harcourt (politician)
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was a British lawyer, journalist and Liberal statesman. He served as Member of Parliament for various constituencies and held the offices of Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under William Ewart Gladstone before becoming Leader of...
, who on the 11 August 1887, whilst giving a speech on The Labourers' Allotments Bill, remarked that "we are all Socialists now"
In 2002, Peter Mandleson wrote an article in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
declaring "we are all Thatcherites now", referring to the acceptance amongst the other political parties of Margaret Thatcher's
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
economic policies.
The phrase gained new life in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2008, when economists called for massive investment in infrastructure and job creation as a means of economic stimulation.
The February 2009 cover of Newsweek played on the phrase with the headline, "We are all socialists now," referring to the growing trend of American politicians of both parties to favor the centralization of power through the mutual expansion of government. Graphically, this was symbolized by a cover picture featuring a red hand (Republican) shaking a blue hand (Democrat).