Internet Exercises       If you'd like to print out this page, click the Print button above. Alternatively, you may click the printer icon on your browser's toolbar, or choose File>Print from the menu.   Back to Exercise List     Keynes on the Versailles Treaty John Maynard Keynes: The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920 John Maynard Keynes was an English economist perhaps best known for "Keynesian economics," which includes the idea that the government should spend money to lower unemployment and stimulate the economy during economic downturns. He was a representative of the British government at the Paris Peace Conference. 1. According to Keynes, what was the greatest weakness of the Versailles Treaty? 2. How does Keynes characterize the motivations of Clemenceau, Lloyd George, and Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference? 3. What effect would the implementation of the Versailles Treaty have upon the population of Germany, given the state of its economy and infrastructure? 4. How did the Versailles Treaty reflect the global distribution of power just after World War I? 5. How can the actions of Britain and France at the Paris Peace Conference be interpreted in terms of their desires to increase their power relative to that of Germany?