ŏ Ŕ ō Ŝ Š ő Ş ȘȗHutt and Keynes*
William H. Hutt’s career involved work on three continents. Born in Lon-
don inȀȇȈȈ, he studied at the London School of Economics. FromȀȈȁȇ
toȀȈȅȄ, the University of Cape Town in South Africa was his academic
base. He subsequently emigrated to the United States, teaching at several
American universities. He died inȀȈȇȇ.
Hutt was a wide-ranging scholar. Like John Maynard Keynes, he con-
tributed to topics beyond monetary theory and macroeconomics (see, for
example, ReynoldsȀȈȇȅ). InEconomists and the PublicandPolitically Impos-
sible ... ?, he waxed philosophical, exploring the proper role of academic
economists in debates over public policy. He counselled academics to cher-
ish their ivory-tower purity, avoiding even the appearance of speaking for
political parties or industries or other private interests, in order to preserve
their scientific authority. Ļey should not compromise in hope of being
influential. Hutt was “sufficient of a realist to know that the chances of ...
exercising any influence on policy are small.” “Every true economist in this
age must be satisfied with great hopes and small expectations” (ȀȈȄȁa, p.ȄȂ,
quoting the preface to his ownĻeory of Idle Resources). When an econo-
mist does considerpoliticalfeasibility and so recommends a policy other
than the one he considers best on grounds of economics (and avowable
value judgments), then he should clearly state the amateur political assess-
ment underlying his recommendation, and also state the policy he truly
considers best. Keynes, unlike Hutt, relished active involvement outside
academia. He wrote much on policy issues, was confident of his ability to
sway public opinion first one way and then another (as he mentioned in a
conversation recalled by F.A. Hayek,ȀȈȆȈ, pp.ȀǿȀ–Ȁǿȁ), and was inclined
to develop theory to bolster existing policy intuitions. As its title suggests,
however, this chapter concentrates on work for which Hutt and Keynes
*FromPerspectives on the History of Economic Ļought, vol.ȅ, Selected Papers from
the History of Economics Conference,ȀȈȇȈ, ed. William J. Barber (Aldershot, U.K., and
Brookfield, Vt.: Elgar,ȀȈȈȀ).
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