Robert Skidelsky — Topsy Turvy Economics

Governments, too, must live within their means. So say all of us. But the less a country is producing, the smaller the government's means. So common sense suggests that governments that want to cut their deficits should do all they can to increase their country’s means, which will also increase their own means. The simplest way to do this is to provide people with work. 

But common sense and economics have never had a very close connection. Economists have conned us into believing that all the means available are already being used. If unemployment is a lot higher than it was a few years back, this isn't because people can't find jobs: it is because they prefer leisure to work, and so are not part of the 'means'. So we - governments and all of us - must 'cut our cloth' to suit our reduced means, because the previous means have mysteriously disappeared.

Robert Skidelsky's Website

Topsy Turvy Economics

Robert Skidelsky