What do the Bushmen of the Kalahari have in common with John Maynard Keynes? In a visionary essay entitled “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren” (1930), Keynes made two prophecies: first, that the Great Depression would prove to be “only a temporary period of adjustment” and that prosperity would increase for the next two generations and more. On this his prediction that living standards “one hundred years hence will be between four and eight times as high” was correct; we are five times better off than our grandparents or great-grandparents were in 1930 and our children may be eight times better off than them by 2030.
喀拉哈里沙漠(Kalahari)的布希曼人(Bushmen)與經濟學家約翰•梅納德•凱恩斯(John Maynard Keynes)有何共通之處？在1930年發表的前瞻性文章《我們後代的經濟前景》(Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren)中，凱恩斯作了兩大預測：第一是經濟大蕭條最終「只是短暫的調整期」，以及孫子輩（甚至更多代）的人將更加富足。他基於此所作的「一百年後（2030年）英國的人均收入將再要提高四至八倍」的預測準確無誤；我們比1930年祖父輩及高祖輩的收入增加了五倍，到2030年，我們下一代的收入將是他們的8倍。