Josef Macek Between Liberal Socialism and Social Liberalism

My article is an impetus for a discussion on liberal aspect of the thinking of social democratic politician and economist Josef Macek (1887-1972). In the first part I define Macek´s approach to liberalism (his understanding of the basic notions, concept of the relationship between an individual and the society, idea of the relationship between socialism and liberalism and his interpretation of Adam Smith). My conclusion is that though Macek was a conscious socialist and he had limitations in respect to libertarian interpretation of the classic liberalism of the 19th century, he was at the same time to a considerable extent influenced by liberalism and he constantly oscillated on the threshold between socialism and liberalism. In the second part of the article I contemplate possible sources of inspiration of Macek´s opinions - I primarily question the extent of the influence of F. Oppenheimer and J. M. Keynes - and, moreover, I consider the general ideological context in which Macek´s opinions could be embedded. In this respect I conclude that Macek was influenced both by Oppenheimer as well as Keynes but by each of them in a different manner, on a diverse level of commonness and at a different moment. However, the liberal aspect of Macek´s thinking far more likely grew out of his knowledge of Oppenheimer and some Anglo-Saxon authors, who have either never or seldom been put in context with Macek, than from his knowledge of Keynes.