John Maynard Keynes

About John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) was one of the most consequential economists of the 20th century, fundamentally reshaping macroeconomic theory. His work, particularly *The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money*, provided the intellectual framework for government intervention to stabilize economies, giving rise to the Keynesian economics that dominated post-WWII policy. This profound, global influence earns him a high ranking of #727 on MIT's Historical Popularity Index, recognizing his lasting impact on financial systems and the relationship between the state and the market.

Despite this historical significance, Keynes receives moderate attention in the current digital landscape. His 750K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025 place him in an overattention category relative to his importance, indicated by an Attention Gap score of +2x. This suggests his cultural memory is slightly inflated compared to figures of similar historical weight, though he is still less viewed than contemporaries like Al Capone (#992 importance, 2.6M views) or P. J. Abdul Kalam (#990 importance, 2.4M views).

Encouragingly for the legacy of macroeconomics, contemporary interest is growing, with his views showing a positive Year-over-Year Change of +9.6% and a strong Q1 vs Q3 Momentum of +7%, suggesting renewed scholarly or public focus on his theories.