Over the last one-hundred years there has been a bitter struggle in the world of economics between those who believe the market should have complete control of the economy and those who believe that the government should regulate the economy. Two of the most famous and influential economists of the modern world, John Maynard Keynes and Frederick Von Hayek, stand on opposite sides of the battle lines drawn between the two positions. Keynes is a staunch believer of the government intervention and regulation of the economy, whereas his personnel friend and ideological rival Hayek believes in the markets ability to control the economy. The differences in economic theory have spilled over into political debates, heated division within countries, and war. The battle between these two ideologies goes beyond sheer economic theory and spills over into individuals beliefs on how the world should be run and organized.

John Maynard Keynes was an English economist who was educated at Cambridge University. He was considered by his peers and elders to have incredible potential as an influential world leader in the field of economics. During the First World War he served as an advisor to the government of the United Kingdom on how to organize their economy in the time of war. Keynes economic theory was based on the fact that in order to be successful an economy needed to be regulated and planned, to an extent, by the government. Based on his theory slight inflation was good, and necessary in order to keep unemployment down. The economy should be mixed between a free market economy for regular businesses and government regulation for the large industries such as coal, oil, and flight. His theories and beliefs became known nationally through his publications of The General Theory. His friend and rival, Hayek, strongly disagreed with everything that Keynesian economics stands for.