Alongside Friedrich Hayek, Wilhelm Röpke (1899-1966) was one of the founding members of the Mont Pélerin society. In 1961, he became president of the society but terminated his membership a year later following a disagreement with Hayek over the future direction of the group.
The present English edition was published initially in 1932 under the title Krise und Konjunktur, four years prior to the publication of Keynes’ General Theory. Röpke states in the Preface that “Unfortunately, the book was already set in type when Mr. Keynes’ new work… was published. The author believes, however, that the reader will be able easily to discern where and why the bold views of Mr. Keynes do not coincide with those set forth in the present book”.
Crises and Cycles is notable on multiple accounts. In the first instance, Röpke firmly routes his approach within Austrian business cycle theory. The Great Depression was for him as it was for the likes of Hayek, Rothbard, and von Mises, a function of money supply manipulation by central banks and, more broadly, government intervention. However, Röpke diverges from his colleagues in his treatment of bust periods. There are, he explains, two potentialities following a period of boom. That is, a proportionate primary contraction, and, in some cases, a disproportionate and chronic “secondary depression”. It is in the latter of these cases that Röpke insists on a “theory of the depression*”* whereby expansionary economic policies are pursued in the short term by government (Crises and Cycles, Röpke, p. 133, 198). By his own admission, Keynes’ A Treatise on Money was particularly influential.
Ownership inscription to front free endpaper otherwise contents clean, partial offsetting to endpapers, spotting to top edge, minor bumps to corners with some shelf wear to spine, else very good copy.
