John Maynard Keynes\' 1919 Book

John Maynard Keynes' 1919 book "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" provides information making it possible for readers to understand how individuals in Europe played an active role in bringing the continent to a particularly damaged state consequent to the First World War. This process was lengthy and it began long before the war actually came into effect, as Europeans during the 1870s started to promote an illusion concerning how everything was perfect and that they could do anything they wanted to without risking to deteriorate their general condition. Previous to 1870 people across Europe appear to have had a more complex understanding of the fragility of the social order entailing countries on the continent and the relationship between them.

From Keynes' point-of-view, European countries had invested a great deal of sources in industries that were likely to be unprofitable in the long run (Keynes 9). The fact that they became obsessed with technological progress and did not consider the economic impact of their actions led to the increasing set of conflicts from the early twentieth century. Moreover, most European countries during the period had the tendency to focus on personal progress rather than to try and support each-other in achieving success and stability. This led to a series if divergences appearing between European countries as a result of considering that they were not exploiting their position sufficiently.

According to Keynes, major European powers wanted to secure their position on the continent after 1870. These countries wanted to be prepared in case of a large conflict and they thus got Europe as a whole to express more interest in the military aspect of progress rather than in trying to achieve economic progress. Germany, for example, changed their orientation from being "agricultural and mainly self-supporting" (Keynes 13) to being "a vast and complicated industrial machine, dependent on its working on its equipoise of many factors outside Germany as well as within." (Keynes 13)

Keynes was particularly concerned in using his book with the purpose of denouncing behavior in Germany and other European countries. He emphasized that what many perceived as constructive progress was actually the result of irresponsible behavior that was going to lead to significant problems (Berend & Berend 224). What many individuals, especially the Germans and the Russians, believed to be the result of their passion, was actually the result of exploiting resources at an abnormal rate and of increasing the number of people without realizing that this destabilized economies.

The First World War and people's struggle to recover from its consequences have taken a huge toll on Europe. While the continent was ravaged from the fighting that went on within its borders, the French and the British devised a peace strategy that was likely to damage it even further. It seemed that the Germans were not the only ones who were blind as a result of their power during the period. The Central Powers started the war in an attempt to demonstrate that they were one of the strongest forces in the world. Similarly, the victors considered that it was only natural for them to impose a destructive penalty system on Germany. They failed to understand that it was in their best interest to have Europe progress as a whole rather than to allow the Germans to lose almost all the resources they had access to. "As a young Treasury economist, Keynes believed that the imposition of such massive reparations, set at £6600 million in 1921, would prevent German economic recovery." (Peaple 172)

Population was especially important in destabilizing the European economic system, as the positive environment across the continent made it possible for the population of countries like Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Russia to reach impressive numbers while also promoting values that made the rich richer and increased poverty rates. A rapidly increasing number of individuals meant that particular opinions would become more common and that more individuals were determined to reach goals that were previously believed to be negative for society as a whole.

Organization was key in Europe during the early twentieth century, taking into account that European countries were interdependent previous to the First World War. Germany, for example, was responsible for collaborating with most European countries and with both supplying them with products and buying products from them. "Germany was the best customer of Russia, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. […] She was the largest source of supply to Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Roumania, and Bulgaria." (Keynes 7) The fact that Europe became involved in the First World War thus led to the continent experiencing serious economic problems, taking into account that most countries were no longer able to sustain their demand and supply.

The European Psychology of Society promoted the idea that it was in the continent's best interest to make sure that it gathered as much capital as it possibly could. However, the fact that most of this respective capital was in the hands of rich people who were reluctant to spend it meant that money stayed in the same place as poor individuals struggled to survive.

The Relation of the Old World to the New was also a significant reason for economic destabilization across Europe during the early twentieth century. By 1914 Europe had started to depend on resources from the New World and the fact that it gradually came to have access to lesser and lesser resources from the West meant that it would have to focus on employing self-sufficient attitudes. This was particularly hard in an environment torn by war and where countries were determined to focus on their personal interests rather than to help each-other.