Of clouds and clocks and Keynes: conceptions of reality and the growth of knowledge function of money^∗

^∗ I would like to thank the Whittemore School and the Department of Economics for a grant in support of this research. I would like to thank Will Mason, Paul Wendt, Richard England, Jim Neidhart, Robert Martel, the participants of the Kress Society in Boston, and students and the faculty participating in the Economics Seminar at the Whittemore School.

Abstract

In this paper, John Maynard Keynes' General theoryand the concept of money are given an evolutionary interpretation. This interpretation is based on Karl Popper's delightful essay ‘Of clouds and clocks: an approach to the problem of rationality and the freedom of man’. The essay presents two things: Popper's conception of indeterminism and his general theory of abstractions. Popper's general theory concerns the role of abstractions and rule-governed, hierarchical systems of abstractions in structuring an indeterministic and uncertain world. He applies his general theory to science.Popper maintains that science is an abstract, rule-governed, linguistic process that facilitates criticism as a way of learning about our world. Popper calls this the growth of knowledge function of science. Popper's general theory can be applied to Keynes' General theory. Following Popper, I argue for a conception of the economy as a rule-governed, monetary language of commerce that facilitates critically minded inquiry in the domain of ordinary economic transactions. A monetary system facilitates the growth of commonsense knowledge in the economy. I call this the growth of knowledge function of money. An awareness of indeterminism and a growth of knowledge like function of money seem to pervade Keynes' General theory.

^∗ I would like to thank the Whittemore School and the Department of Economics for a grant in support of this research. I would like to thank Will Mason, Paul Wendt, Richard England, Jim Neidhart, Robert Martel, the participants of the Kress Society in Boston, and students and the faculty participating in the Economics Seminar at the Whittemore School.

^∗ I would like to thank the Whittemore School and the Department of Economics for a grant in support of this research. I would like to thank Will Mason, Paul Wendt, Richard England, Jim Neidhart, Robert Martel, the participants of the Kress Society in Boston, and students and the faculty participating in the Economics Seminar at the Whittemore School.

Notes

^∗ I would like to thank the Whittemore School and the Department of Economics for a grant in support of this research. I would like to thank Will Mason, Paul Wendt, Richard England, Jim Neidhart, Robert Martel, the participants of the Kress Society in Boston, and students and the faculty participating in the Economics Seminar at the Whittemore School.