opposing theories

my money is on adam smith... or maybe john galt...:

Mario Rizzo and Gerald O’Driscoll point to dueling letters to the editor from 1932 in The London Times by John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek on whether government spending can help cure contemporary economic woes. The letters, unearthed by Richard Ebeling, show that today’s debates over economic policy are, in many respects, a rerun of the debates of the 1930s.

this comment summarizes the fight:

The question is: do we believe economic theories that had been around and verified by 150+ years of observation and practice; or do we believe an economic theory postulated by a political activist who proposed his ideas during an economic recession in order to increase their play in his target audience (governments)? Keynes provided a convenient cover for expansion of government power, which was part in parcel with the current theory of expanding government on a ‘scientific basis.’ It didn’t matter that the science was wrong or absurd (e.g. eugenics), it only mattered that it sounded good and gave cover to expanding government power.