Before Keynes, economists were gloomy naysayers. "Nothing can be done"," Don’t interfere," "It will never work," they intoned with Eeyore—like pessimism. But Keynes was an unswerving optimist. Of course we can lick unemployment! Theer is no reason to put up with recessions and depressions! The "economic problem is not, if we look into the future the permanent problem of the human race," he wrote. Keynes was born in Cambridge, England, in 1883. His father John Neville Keynes was a noted Cam-bridge economist. His mother Florence Ada Keynes became mayor of Cambridge. Young John was a brilliant student but didn’t immediately aspire to either academiv or public life. He wanted to run a railroad. "his so easy.., and fascinating to master the principles of these things, "he told a friend, with his usual modesty. But no railroad came along, and Keynes ended up taking the civil service exam. His lowest mark was in economics. "I evidently knew more about Economics than my examiners." he later explained. Keynes was posted to the India Office, but the Civil Service proved deadly dull, and he soon left. He lectured at Cambridge, edited an influential journal and socialized with his Bloomsburv friends, surrounded himself with artists and writers and led an altogether dilettantish life until Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, and Europe was plunged into World War I. Keynes was called to Britain’s Treasury to work on overseas finances, where be quickly shone. Even his artistic tastes came in handy. lie figured a way to balance the French accounts by having Britain’s National Gallery buy paintings by Manet, Corot and Delaeroix at bargain prices.