The foundations of Keynes' thinking and the role of the State

Abstract

John Maynard Keynes' conception of the capitalist economy is primarily characterized by uncertainty. The view on uncertainty, inherent in reality itself, is fundamentally supported both by his theory of probability, expressed in the Treatise on Probability, which demonstrates that probability does not deal with calculating the frequencies of past phenomena, but rather that it is closely linked to a logical and rational relationship of how human beings perceive and interact with something, as well as by a realistic worldview. We hypothesize that Keynes was able to grasp a fundamental aspect of objective reality: the juxtaposition between the intentionality of individual actions and the interaction of these actions with the entirety of society. Thus, this study aims to analyze the foundations of Keynes' conception of the uncertain nature of reality and the formation of expectations, in order to understand his proposals for state intervention in his General Theory.