# Europe — The Economic Consequences of the Peace character guide

> Europe in The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** itself, herself, its

**First appearance:** 0001-the-economic-consequences-of-the-peace

## Snapshot

Not a setting but a patient — a single economic organism, sick and dying, whose tremors England cannot feel.

## Who they are

Europe is personified as one body: France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Holland, Russia, Romania, and Poland flourishing together, rocking together in war, and liable to fall together. Its population exceeds what can be fed, its transport is ruptured, its food supplies impaired, and its civilization convulses. The Peace of Paris becomes destructive precisely because it ignores this interdependence — the book's central claim.

## Relationships

### [Wilson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters/wilson)

_psychological_

Europe is depicted as a victim of Wilson's idealistic but impractical plans, leading to economic and political instability.

### [The Allies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters/the_allies)

_psychological_

Europe is portrayed as a victim of the Allies' punitive policies, suffering economic collapse as a result.

### [The Allies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters/the_allies)

_psychological_

Europe is portrayed as a victim of the Allies' punitive policies, suffering economic collapse as a result.

## In the story

### [The Economic Consequences of the Peace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/the-economic-consequences-of-the-peace)

The broader economic entity whose interdependence is shattered by the treaty.

### [I: Introductory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/i-introductory)

Europe is depicted as a solid, intertwined entity that may fall together if the victors destroy the vanquished.

### [Europe Before the War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/ii-europe-before-the-war)

Described as a complex economic organism dependent on New World food and capital exports, now sick and dying after the war.

### [Population](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/i-population)

Central Europe became an extraordinary center of population, with Germany and Austria-Hungary together equaling the population of North America.

### [Organization](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/ii-organization)

The entire European system east of the Rhine fell into the German industrial orbit; internal factors of order, security, and uniformity prepared the way for industrial organization.

### [III: The Psychology of Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iii-the-psychology-of-society)

Europe is described as being socially and economically organized to maximize capital accumulation.

### [IV: The Relation of the Old World to the New](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iv-the-relation-of-the-old-world-to-the-new)

Depicted as the Old World whose pre-war prosperity relied on capital exports and cheap food imports from the New World; now sick and dying after the war.

### [IV: The Treaty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iv-the-treaty)

The treaty's provisions threatened Europe's future economic life and stability, ignoring its means of livelihood.

### [The Conference and the Terms of the Treaty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/ii-the-conference-and-the-terms-of-the-treaty)

Described as heading for financial collapse, needing magnanimity from America and a constructive financial policy.

### [Germany's Capacity to Pay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iii-germany-s-capacity-to-pay)

Implied context; the economic interdependence and post-war collapse affect Germany's ability to pay.

### [The Reparation Commission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iv-the-reparation-commission)

The Commission's decisions will exert wide influence on the life of Europe; Keynes suggests it could become an economic council for Europe.

### [VII: Remedies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/vii-remedies)

Europe is portrayed as facing bankruptcy, semi-starvation, and the need for economic reorientation.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/endnotes)

Implied as the broader context for the economic collapse and health crises described.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters/europe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters