№ 2020/2

The year 2020 marks the 137th anniversary of the birth of the philosopher and economist John Maynard Keynes. Therefore, it is relevant to consider the thinker’s scientific heritage, the methodological principles of Keynesian theory, and their influence on the development of modern economic science and the global chal-lenges of our time. The article discusses the Keynesian methodology and contra-dictions, in particular, the discussion of Keynes with J. Tinbergen on the applica-tion of the method of scientific research for targeting the business cycle. Criticiz-ing the Tinbergen method, Keynes points to the transition from a statistical de-scription of economic processes and phenomena to an indicative generalization of economic indicators in the case of a simple correlation. On the example of the scientist’s work, the article considers the formation of Keynes’s specific approach to economic problems combining analysis of real events, theory and the formula-tion of practical recommendations. The current period of development of the world economy is characterized by new factors of instability; Keynes's intellectual heritage allows researchers to apply the historical experience of understanding crisis phenomena in the economy. The article concludes that Keynesianism is the real mainstream of the modern economy. Keynes developed methods and appa-ratus with which the conceptual vision of the economy is transformed into con-crete representations of economic theory. After a long scientific journey, reflected in his works, in particular in the "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money," Keynes made his vision of economic and social phenomena analytically functional. He finally destroyed the logical ability of faith in the ability of a free market economy to automatically maintain full employment, identified the possi-bilities of the influence of regulation of money circulation on prices, exports, im-ports, the production process and employment. Despite criticism of his theoretical arguments, even irreconcilable opponents agreed that his ideas were confirmed in practice. At the end of the article, evidence is presented of the failure of the poli-cy of the "neoliberal mainstream" to overcome the consequences of the chal-lenges of globalization of the 21st century.

Keywords:business cycles, inductive analysis, Keynesianism, Neoliberal mainstream, target-ing, statistical method