An Anatomy of the Concept of Time in Maynard Keynes

One of the most striking changes in economic, thinking wh
ich comes primarily with J
ohn Maynard Keynes, is his
explicit focus on time. For example, it appears early in a part of Keynes’s writings that prediction is a very difficult
matter. Due to the near impossibility of prediction of the
future, uncertainty is a central theme relatively early of
Keynes’s economic thinking. This theme regarding prediction also implies that Keynes makes a clear distinction
between short- and long-term expectations. Theory was to
be concerned mainly with the present and with short
period situations and the explicit attention to the concept
of time, and subsequent altern
ative method of analysis has
led to a number of innovations in economic thinking. This
paper will address Keynes’s handling of the concept of
time from three angles: studying his philosophical backgr
ound, his understanding of soci
ety, and his development
of economic theory.