The Unwritten Books and Papers of J. M. Keynes

That Keynes was an enormously prolific writer needs no emphasis. What is generally unknown, however, is that he also drafted outlines of a number of books and papers which were never completed. ’ The dis-covery of these projects and accompanying notes is significant for they are extremely illuminating in relation to several areas: the development of his thought over a lengthy period, the clarification of his underlying conceptual framework, the completion of some of the lacunae in his published writings, and the interpretation of his position on various contentious matters. The two main purposes of this article are to bring the manuscripts to the attention of scholars and to comment on their significance, especially in relation to Keynes’s economics and politics. Correspondence may be addressed to Rod O’hnnel l, School of Economic and Financia