The Truth of Liberal Economy: Jacques Rueff and John Maynard Keynes (Springer Studies in the History of Economic Thought)

This book provides historical, theoretical, and biographical perspectives on two giants of contemporary economics, Jacques Rueff (1896-1978) and John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). The former French bureaucrat and academician championed classical economics; the latter British economist founded macro-economics criticizing the classical school. Depending upon archival sources, including personal correspondences between the above two figures, the book describes furious debates between them and surrounding them.

In fact, the two economists proposed contrasting diagnosis over almost every event in contemporary world economy: the reparations problem, the Great Depression, the gold exchange standard, and the Bretton Wood System. Keynes appraised managed currency to cope with unemployment, criticizing the classical gold standard; Rueff believed the function of market mechanism, blaming the state intervention. The book highlights deep influence of Rueff, rather largerthan Keynes, in Europe before and after WWII.

The perspective of the book reaches today’s economic issues. The classical view of Rueff was shared in Mont Pelerin Society, a cradle of neo-liberalism. Rueff’s market-friendly view paved way to the neo-liberal reforms which took place after the 1980s. The classical market theory of Rueff, together with dialogues with the labor unions, prepared the social background of the European Union. This book thus reveals the truth of liberal economy, from the 20th to 21st centuries.

Author: Yasuo Gonjo (1941-2021) was a professor emeritus at Yokohama National University and outstanding economic historian, specialized in contemporary financial history of France. The field of research covers colonial banking, Banque de France, and European monetary integration. He had long-time interest in neo-liberalism in Europe, to present a thoroughly alternative view of contemporary history of capitalism. Main publications include French Imperialism and Asia: Bank of Indochina (University of Tokyo Press, 1985), Banque coloniale ou banque d’affaires: la Banque de l'Indochine sous la IIIe République (Comité de l’histoire économique et financière de la France, 1993), French Capitalism and the Central Bank: Modernization of Banque de France (University of Tokyo Press, 1999), and Historical Origin of Monetary Union: Transformation of the Capitalist World and the European Choice (Nihon Keizai Hyouronsha, 2013). He received Nikkei Economic Literature Prize Laureate (1999) and Order of the Sacred Treasure (2019).

Translator: Kazuhiko Yago (1962-) is a professor at Waseda University and an economic historian, specialized in international financial history. The field of research mainly covers the international financial organizations (BIS, IMF and OECD) from historical perspectives. Main publications include Public Finances and Popular Savings in France: Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (1816-1944) (University of Tokyo Press, 1999), The Financial History of the Bank for International Settlements (Routledge, 2013), History of the IMF, Organization, Policy, and Market (co-edited with Yoshio Asai and Masanao Itoh, Springer, 2015), and Handbook of the History of Money and Currency (co-edited with Stefano Battilossi and Youssef Cassis, Springer, 2020). He has been the representative board (president) of Political Economy and Economic History Society, Japan (2019-2021). He received Prix Shibusawa Claudel Laureate (2000).

Postface: Patrick Fridenson is a professor emeritus of International Business History at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, France. His research deals with the strategies, innovations, ethics, structures, and performances of business enterprises in relation to consumers and to the regulatory and social environment in international perspective (comparisons between France, Germany, the US, and Japan). He has worked on several industries: coal, automobile, aircraft, and electronics. He is the author, co-author, or editor of several books, including New Perspectives on 20th Century European Retailing (London, 2021)and Ethical Capitalism. He is the author of Shibusawa Eiichi and Business Leadership in Global Perspective (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2017), Reimagining Business History (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, 2013―translated in Japanese, 2017), The Automobile Revolution (Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Press, 1982, also available on Internet), The French Home Front, 1914-1918 (Oxford, 1992), Thomson’s First Century (Jouy-en-Josas, 1995), and Histoire des usines Renault, vol. I (2nd ed., Paris, 1998), and the author of many articles. Beyond French, his articles have appeared in English, German, Spanish, and Japanese books or journals. He has been the president of the French Association of Economic History (AFHE) and, in the US, of the Business History Conference. He is a board member of the Comité d'histoire économique et financière (CHEFF) instituted by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.