--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not regard the Keynesian revolution…" description: "\"I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late. Hitler had already..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/joan-robinson-11438_contrary_i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution_357777.png" --- # I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great… ![“I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late. Hitler had already found out how to cure unemployment before Keynes had finished explaining why it occured.” quote by Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/joan-robinson-11438_contrary_i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution_357777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/joan-robinson-11438_contrary_i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution_357777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/joan-robinson-11438_contrary_i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution_357777.png) > “I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late. Hitler had already found out how to cure unemployment before Keynes had finished explaining why it occured.” [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Keynesian ideas arrived too late; earlier solutions existed, making its impact tragic. **In simple terms:** Keynesian revolution was delayed and tragic. Key Takeaway Recognize timing in economic ideas. Themes economic history policy analysis timing Mood analytical critical Type historical theoretical When to use this quote - government stimulus - employment policy - historical economic study Key Concepts path dependence policy lag Questions to Reflect On - What alternative solutions existed before Keynes? - How does timing affect policy success? A Different Perspective Complexity of causality can oversimplify history. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) ## Related quotes > [“The /utility /economists, according to Wicksell, were committed to a “thoroughly revolutionary programme” precisely on this question of distribution of income.^9 Marshall, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-utility-economists-according-to-wicksell-were-committed-to-a/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. 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It \[was\] developed ... in the hope of throwing light upon questions of policy.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-very-nature-of-economics-is-rooted-in-nationalism-it-was/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Unequal distribution of income is an excessively uneconomic method of getting the necessary saving done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/unequal-distribution-of-income-is-an-excessively-uneconomic-method-of/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [we make a great fuss about national conscience, but it consists mainly in insisting upon everyone ascribing our national policy to highly moral motives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/we-make-a-great-fuss-about-national-conscience-but-it-consists-mainly/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Economic theorists should not make such a production about taking a rabbit out of a hat after having put the rabbit into the hat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/economic-theorists-should-not-make-such-a-production-about-taking-a/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [science progresses by trial and error, and when it is forbidden to admit error there can be no progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/science-progresses-by-trial-and-error-and-when-it-is-forbidden-to/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [The orthodox doctrines of economics which were dominant in the last quarter of the nineteenth century had a clear message. 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