Alan, I am not sure how the Keynes quote is relevant. I am not saying that Keynes was a jerk. My main point is that when macro principles' teachers teach Keynesian economics using AD-AS and IS-LM analysis, they systematically disregard profit in the broader sense of the term. By making various simplifying assumptions (either explicitly or implicitly), Keynesians rule out the kinds of market economy decisions which, if they were accounted for, would most likely lead to the conclusion that the Keynesian analysis is irrelevant to the task of trying to make policy that is, on balance, beneficial from a utilitarian standpoint.. Regarding the quote, Keynes seems to be writing about speculative profit on an asset that can be disposed of at any time. This kind of profit can have important macro effects, particularly in an economy with a flexible quantity of money. The increase in money (or the increase in demand for speculative money allowed by an increase in supply of money) leads to speculative bubbles, which can, in turn, lead to sudden changes in the distribution of wealth and to mis-allocations that producing entrepreneurs will try to correct. The current housing bubble in the U.S. is an example. But such bubbles are fundamentally monetary phenomena (either a consequence of mistakes made by a particular group creditors like house financiers or of mistakes made by creditors in general, as in the Asian financial crisis) Their effects cannot be dealt with effectively by means of the typical Keynesian tools after they have started.. Regarding Keynes himself, as I recall, he tended to pay too much attention to asset speculation and too little attention to the the speculation and actual undertakings of producing entrepreneurs. Production cannot occur unless resources are bought, a specified period of time passes, and the product is sold. And the production of the typical good bought by consumers entails production of resources by numerous entrepreneurs at different positions along the supply chains, which were accounted for by most of the early neo-classicals, and especially by the Austrians like Menger, Bohm Bawerk and Hayek. My claim is that the Keynesians ignore the profit calculations of these. Those who followed Keynes tended to ignore these supply chains and the time structure of production. And, as I have tried to argue, they tended to ignore the profit associated with these. Have I misunderstood the reason for your quote? Pat Gunning