Chicago economists in 1937 saw Keynes as a fascist threat.

Evidence

Keynes was “irresponsible and untrustworthy” to members of the liberal movement, he warned, and the General Theory had potential as an “economic bible of a fascist movement.” — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 161

Categorization

• XREF: Complicates the standard narrative that US economists dismissed Keynes only on technical grounds; connects to mid-century liberal-Keynesian boundary struggles and to Burgin’s broader argument about the neoliberal turn. — connects to: Chicago economists led opposition to the New Deal and Keynesian doctrine — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 88; The early 1930s radicalized governments and isolated free-market economists. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 41; Keynes wrote the General Theory to save capitalism from fascism and socialism — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2048 (+2 more)
• SHARE: Worth sending to anyone working on the intellectual history of US economics — the pre-war Right’s view of Keynes as proto-fascist is widely neglected.

Broader Connections

• The early 1930s radicalized governments and isolated free-market economists. #complicates (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 41
• Keynes wrote the General Theory to save capitalism from fascism and socialism #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2048