talking in purely academic terms? in your opinion
Maynard Keynes.
Paul Krugman.
I would say Ludwig von Mises–he influenced Friedrich Hayek, who in turned influenced Milton Friedman.
And THIS is an example of how powerful propaganda can be.
Somebody who was so incredibly stupid as to claim that it’s possible to spend your way out of debt is hailed as a great economist.
That would be the same guy who wrote, “As regards internal debt, I am one of those who believe that a capital levy for the extinction of debt is an absolute prerequisite of sound finance in every one of the European belligerent countries.”, right?