Keynes S Economic Consequences Of The Peace After 100 Years

The Economic Consequences of the Peace is a book by John Maynard Keynes. It argues for the sake of the economic well-being of all of Europe, including the Allied Powers after WWI.

In a turbulent world, Keynes's warnings of a century ago are no less relevant - and some even more so.

The Economic Consequences of the Peace was written and published by John Maynard Keynes. After World War I, Keynes attended the Versailles Conference as a delegate of the British Treasury and argued for a much more generous peace. It was a best seller throughout the world and was critical in establishing a general opinion that the Versailles Treaty was a "Carthaginian peace." It helped to consolidate American public opinion against the treaty and involvement in the League of Nations. The perception by much of the British public that Germany had been treated unfairly in turn was a crucial factor in public support for appeasement. The success of the book established Keynes' reputation as a leading economist. When Keynes was a key player in establishing the Bretton Woods system in 1944, he remembered the lessons from Versailles as well as the Great Depression. The Marshall Plan after Second World War is a similar system to that proposed by Keynes in The Economic Consequences of the Peace.

* Beautifully illustrated with atmospheric paintings by renowned artists, The Economic Consequences of the Peace was critical in establishing a general opinion that the Versailles Treaty was a "Carthaginian peace". It helped to consolidate American public opinion against the treaty and involvement in the League of Nations.* Just as accessible and informative for today's readers as it would have been when first published, the work is one of the great pieces of English economic literature and continues to be widely read throughout the world.* This meticulous edition from Heritage Illustrated Publishing is a faithful reproduction of the original text and is enhanced with images of classic works of art carefully selected by our team of professional editors.

he power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. Very few of us realize with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the economic organization by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century. We assume some of the most peculiar and temporary of our late advantages as natural, permanent, and to be depended on, and we lay our plans accordingly. On this sandy and false foundation we scheme for social improvement and dress our political platforms, pursue our animosities and particular ambitions, and feel ourselves with enough margin in hand to foster, not assuage, civil conflict in the European family. Moved by insane delusion and reckless selfregard, the German people overturned the foundations on which we all lived and built. But the spokesmen of the French and British peoples have run the risk of completing the ruin, which Germany began, by a Peace which, if it is carried into effect, must impair yet further, when it might have restored, the delicate, complicated organization, already shaken and broken by war, through which alone the European peoples can employ themselves and live.

"The Economic Consequences of the Peace" gave economist John Maynard Keynes a huge but controversial influence on perceptions of the peace treaty signed after World War I. John Maynard Keynes was not only a brilliant economist, but a superb writer with a keen eye for the foibles of the great men of his time. "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" is a must read for anyone interested in the Versailles Peace Treaty and the aftermath of its signing. Even today, the power of Keynes' argument is evident. Though Keynes admitted that the allies might not hold Germany to all the economic terms of the treaty, he still felt strongly that many of the terms of the treaty, whether enforced or not, discouraged sound planning by German investors, companies, and its government, and unnecessarily impoverished the German people. As pointed out in his classic book, Keynes felt this was bad for not just Germany, but all of Europe.

"The Economic Consequences of the Peace is one of those rare books that seem to exude brilliance, power and polemical passion from the opening page..." -The Guardian The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919) is a book written and published by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. After the First World War, Keynes attended the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 as a delegate of the British Treasury. In his book, he argued for a much more generous peace, not out of a desire for justice or fairness - these are aspects of the peace that Keynes does not deal with - but for the sake of the economic well-being of all of Europe, including the Allied Powers, which the Treaty of Versailles and its associated treaties would prevent. The book was a best-seller throughout the world and was critical in establishing a general opinion that the treaties were a "Carthaginian peace" designed to crush the defeated Central Powers, especially Germany. It helped to consolidate American public opinion against the treaties and against joining the League of Nations. The perception by much of the British public that Germany had been treated unfairly was, in turn, a crucial factor in later public support for the appeasement of Hitler. The success of the book established Keynes' reputation as a leading economist, especially on the left. When Keynes was a key player in establishing the Bretton Woods system in 1944, he remembered the lessons from Versailles as well as the Great Depression. The Marshall Plan, which was promulgated to rebuild Europe after the Second World War, was similar to the system proposed by Keynes in The Economic Consequences of the Peace. A True Classic for All Lovers of Economics, History, and Political Theory!