Keynes saw the favorable side of capitalism (innova-
tion, reward for invention and hard work, market effi-
ciency, and personal liberty) and sought to correct
its deficiencies (the extreme business cycle of “boom
and bust,” high unemployment, poverty in certain
sectors of the economy) with government monetary
control and regulation. Britain and the United States
employed Keynesian economics more than other
nations, and some attribute this to their preserving
their democracies and free-market economics. But
critics of Keynesian views (CONSERVATIVEeconomists
such as Milton Friedman) claim that these policies
led to monetary inflation, high taxes, and excessive
federal government regulation of business. Still, the
Liberal Democratic policy premised in Keynesian
economics (“mixed economy” of public/private) dom-
inated U.S. national politics for 50 years (1930–80)
until the presidency of Ronald REAGANshifted policy
back to more laissez-faire capitalism, and return-
ing greater policy control to the states. But the princi-
pal policies of Keynes (Social Security, central-
government monetary control, public debt, and regu-
latory agencies) continue to dominate the U.S. politi-
cal system.
Further Reading
Harrod, R. F. The Life of John Maynard Keynes.New York: Har-
court, Brace and Co., 1951.
Kierkegaard, Sören (1813–1855) Danish phi-
losopher and existentialist
As a progenitor of EXISTENTIALISM, Kierkegaard criti-
cized the DIALECTICALphilosophy of HEGELby asserting
that “Truth is subjectivity,” by which he meant that
until a philosophic, political, ethical, or religious prin-
ciple was known personally, it did not exist for the
individual. This reflects his EVANGELICAL Protestant
CHRISTIANITY, emphasizing personal commitment to liv-
ing a Christlike life rather than the formal institutional
church and cold religion he witnessed in Denmark.
His emphasis on individual responsibility in morals
led to secular philosophical Existentialism (see
SARTRE). But Kierkegaard approached truth from vari-
ous perspectives: (1) aesthetic (sensory stimulation
and beauty); (2) ETHICAL(moral views and conduct);
and (3) religious (the individual’s relationship to God).
His approach ended with a profoundly personal Chris-
tian sense of humility and faith in Christian Discourses
and Training in Christianity(1850). This INDIVIDUALIST,
CONSERVATIVE, and mystical dimension of Kierkegaar-
dian thought made him a target for more “ACTIVIST”
philosophers, especially LIBERALS and MARXISTS. His
introspective psychology in The Concept of Dread
(1844) and Sickness Unto Death (1849) made him
appealing to political writers with a religious bent,
such as Karl Barth and Martin HEIDEGGER.Further Reading
Polk, Timothy. The Biblical Kierkegaard.Macon, Ga.: Mercer
University Press, 1997.King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1929–1968)
African-American minister and social activistThe Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was the fore-
most leader of the civil rights movement in the United
States, which fought against legalized segregation and
racial injustice. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the
son and grandson of Baptist ministers. At the age of
15, he entered Morehouse College and received his
B.A. in 1948. That same year, King was ordained a
Baptist minister. He spent the next three years at the
Crozer Theological Seminary, where he was elected
student body president and graduated with the high-
est grade average in his class. King then attended
Boston University and continued his study of theol-
ogy, philosophy, and ethics. He received a Ph.D. in
1955 in philosophical theology for a dissertation titled
“A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the
Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman.”
During this period King was greatly influenced by the
works of a number of major thinkers, including
SOCRATES, St. AUGUSTINE, St. Thomas AQUINAS, Sören
KIERKEGAARD, Frederick DOUGLASS, and Mohandas
GANDHI.
Following his marriage to Coretta Scott, King
became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, Alabama. In December 1955, Rosa Parks
was arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a
white passenger. Black activists in Montgomery then
formed a boycott of the city’s public bus system and
selected King to lead the boycott. The boycott brought
the first public attention to King as a leading social
activist. His speeches were passionate and uncompro-
mising in their demand for FREEDOMand justice for
blacks and foreshadowed the great rhetorical skill that
made King famous both nationally and internationally172 Kierkegaard, Sören