Confusion, Not Conspiracy

In September 1960, a thick pamphlet of 114 pages appeared with the title Keynes at Harvard. It was published by the Veritas Foundation of New York, which described its purpose as: “To educate the officials, teaching staffs, governing bodies, undergraduates and graduates of American colleges and universities, upon the subject of Communism, the international Communist conspiracy and its methods of infiltration into the United States.” Presented as a “staff study,” no author was listed as such; but the name of Zygmund Dobbs appeared on the title page as “research director.”

The thesis of the pamphlet was that “Keynesian economics” was not economics but a “weapon of political conspiracy”; that “Keynes himself was a Fabian socialist,” and so were most of his followers; that the Keynesians “infiltrated” the Economics Department at Harvard and “planted” other Keynesians in other colleges; that the difference between the Fabians at one end and the Communists at the other “is merely a difference in methods. The Fabians believe in ‘easing’ into absolute power by deceit. The Communists and Fascists believe in attaining power by violence. The ends are the same since absolute power can only be maintained by violent repression.”

HH

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Henry Hazlitt

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In September 1960, a thick pamphlet of 114 pages appeared with the title Keynes at Harvard. It was published by the Veritas Foundation of New York, which described its purpose as: “To educate the officials, teaching staffs, governing bodies, undergraduates and graduates of American colleges and universities, upon the subject of Communism, the international Communist conspiracy and its methods of infiltration into the United States.” Presented as a “staff study,” no author was listed as such; but the name of Zygmund Dobbs appeared on the title page as “research director.”

The thesis of the pamphlet was that “Keynesian economics” was not economics but a “weapon of political conspiracy”; that “Keynes himself was a Fabian socialist,” and so were most of his followers; that the Keynesians “infiltrated” the Economics Department at Harvard and “planted” other Keynesians in other colleges; that the difference between the Fabians at one end and the Communists at the other “is merely a difference in methods. The Fabians believe in ‘easing’ into absolute power by deceit. The Communists and Fascists believe in attaining power by violence. The ends are the same since absolute power can only be maintained by violent repression.”