We could take a leaf out of a booklet by Keynes in our effort to tackle some of the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic One of the defining features of a war economy is that economic thinking is focused on quantities rather than prices.
Much of the ongoing global response to the covid-19 pandemic is still in crisis-Keynesian mode. The nation-state has become the income supporter, financier and consumer of last resort.
However, there are also clear signs of war economics as well. The decision by US President Donald Trump to use America’s Defense Production Act to force General Motors to make ventilators is one resonant example.