The Most Successful and Pernicious Hoax in the History of Economic Thought Is the Completely Fallacious Theory of Keynesianism

So ends our lengthy analysis of the most successful and pernicious hoax in the history of economic thought--Keynesianism. All of Keynesian thinking is a tissue of distortions, fallacies, and drastically unrealistic assumptions. The vicious political effects of the Keynesian program have only been briefly considered. They are only too obvious: the rulers of the State engaging in direct robbery through "progressive" taxation, creating and spending new money in competition with individuals, directing investment, "influencing" consumption--the State all-powerful, the individual helpless and throttled under the yoke. All this is in the name of "saving free enterprise." (Rare is the Keynesian who admits to being a socialist.) This is the price we are asked to pay in order to put a completely fallacious theory into effect!

--Murray N. Rothbard, "Spotlight on Keynesian Economics," in Strictly Confidential: The Private Volker Fund Memos of Murray N. Rothbard, ed. David Gordon (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010), 239.