Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General introduction
- Note to the reader
- Part I Reactions to ‘The Economic Consequences of the Peace’ (1919–1924)
- 1 Reaction in England
- 2 Reaction in the United States
- 3 Second Thoughts on President Wilson
- 4 More American Reactions
- 5 What Really Happened at Paris
- Part II Keynes and ‘Inside’ and ‘Outside’ Opinion (1919–1920)
- Part III Towards ‘A Revision of the Treaty’ (1921)
- Part IV ‘A Revision’ Reviewed (1922–1924)
- Part V ‘Reconstruction in Europe’ (1921–1923)
- List of Documents Reproduced
- Index
2 - Reaction in the United States
from Part I - Reactions to ‘The Economic Consequences of the Peace’ (1919–1924)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General introduction
- Note to the reader
- Part I Reactions to ‘The Economic Consequences of the Peace’ (1919–1924)
- 1 Reaction in England
- 2 Reaction in the United States
- 3 Second Thoughts on President Wilson
- 4 More American Reactions
- 5 What Really Happened at Paris
- Part II Keynes and ‘Inside’ and ‘Outside’ Opinion (1919–1920)
- Part III Towards ‘A Revision of the Treaty’ (1921)
- Part IV ‘A Revision’ Reviewed (1922–1924)
- Part V ‘Reconstruction in Europe’ (1921–1923)
- List of Documents Reproduced
- Index
Summary
The ‘first serious and responsible criticism’ of The Economic Consequences of the Peace, in Keynes's own estimation, came from John Foster Dulles, who had been legal adviser of the American financial delegation at Paris. Dulles had taken a major part in framing the reparation and financial sections of the Treaty, and as a member of the Provisional Reparation Commission had observed their practical application. In a letter to The Times, 16 February 1920, he advanced the point of view that the very evils for which Keynes criticised the treaty were nullified by safeguards contained in the treaty itself.
Denying Keynes's assertion that President Wilson had abandoned his Fourteen Points at the Peace Conference, Dulles made public for the first time the facts about the American delegation's final assent to the inclusion of pensions and separation allowances as claims upon the enemy, Keynes's special object of disapproval.
The inclusion of these items Mr Keynes represents as due to a capitulation by President Wilson to ‘a master-piece of the sophist's art’. Personally, I reached the conclusion, though with considerable doubt, that pensions and separation allowances were not properly chargeable to Germany. Many persons whose intellect and sincerity command the confidence of the world reached a contrary conclusion. The particular ‘masterpiece of subtlety’ to which Mr Keynes refers was, in fact, an argument for the inclusion of pensions and separation allowances prepared by General Smuts, who is generally recognised as one of the leaders of liberal thought, and who did not hesitate to express his disapproval of certain other features of the treaty …
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- Information
- The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes , pp. 24 - 50Publisher: Royal Economic SocietyPrint publication year: 1978
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