Constructivist Rationalism Pervades Socialism and Post-Keynesian Economics and Is Denounced by Austrian Economists

It is this kind of constructivist rationalism — which pervades post-Keynesian economics in particular and socialism more generally — that is emphatically denounced by Austrian economists. It is a ‘fatal conceit’ of intellectuals that they presume to determine structures for a beneficent social order. This is found in a conclusion that is familiar across diverse post-Keynesian analysis: that, although the world is fraught with difficulties that arise from decisions that must be undertaken in the face of uncertainty, a solution is at hand. With a heart-stopping leap — made without fear, hesitation or embarrassment — the void is crossed. The future is uncertain, but it can be shaped by the guidance of theorists who have understood Keynes correctly.

—G.R. Steele, Keynes and Hayek: The Money Economy, Foundations of the Market Economy (London: Routledge Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2002), 173.