Coping with reality - Keynes versus main stream textbooks

In the highly theoretical work, The General Theory of Theory of Interest, Employment and Income (GT), Keynes also tries to make his theory as realistic as possible (coping with reality). In this paper it is analyzed how. This is done by identifying selected quotations in which Keynes either explicitly refers to the actually existing economy or comments upon or relates to this question of theorizing versus reality. By analyzing (or generalizing) this empirical material it is demonstrated that Keynes copes with reality by generalizing from experience, giving priority to the most important parts of reality and making empirically based assumptions rather than assumptions consistent to a model. If textbooks applied the same principles not much would be left…