Author Archives: David Moon

J.M. Keynes “Anything we can actually do, we can afford.”

By David Moon | Mon 15th June 2026 - 7:15 pm

Reading Chris Bowers’ recent Yorkist post, I thought it to be an excellently optimistic paper – the diagram grouping the Liberal Democrats in the Progressive Left, Anti-System group is very persuasive.

The idea of promoting a Keynesian economic philosophy is brilliant and needs to challenge the current economic orthodoxy.

The final paragraph on page 22 of The New Deal reads:

The Lib Dems need to be unashamedly Keynesian in their approach to the 2029 election. This will not be an easy task, as it means challenging the orthodoxy that has taken root in both the Treasury and the Bank of England. It will also involve strengthening provision for national well-being so it cannot be sacrificed at the altar of shareholder dividends – it will mean companies will have to fulfil certain social and environmental responsibilities before they make payouts to shareholders.

Keynes famously said “Anything we can actually do, we can afford.”

He delivered this famous line during a BBC Radio Address on April 2, 1942, which was subsequently published in The Listener and later collected in his Collected Works (Volume XXVII) under the title “How Much Does Finance Matter?”

The context behind the quote

At the time of the broadcast, Britain was deep in the Second World War, and people were beginning to look ahead to post-war reconstruction. Many were anxious about how the country could possibly fund rebuilding its cities, expanding education, and establishing what would become the welfare state, given the massive national debts piled up during the war.