The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
Keynes set forward the ideas that became the basis for Keynesian economics in his main work, "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" (1936). It was written during the Great Depression, when unemployment rose to 25% in the United States and as high as 33% in some countries. It is almost wholly theoretical, enlivened by occasional passages of satire and social commentary. The book had a profound impact on economic thought, and ever since it was published there has been debate over its meaning.