# Mr. Lloyd George — The Economic Consequences of the Peace character guide

> Mr. Lloyd George in The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** a Lloyd George, Mr. George, Lloyd George, George

**First appearance:** 0008-iii-the-conference

## Snapshot

Britain's prime minister at Paris, whose political instincts and shifting tactics helped shape a peace Keynes judged dangerously punitive.

## Who they are

Lloyd George sits among the four men Keynes calls the microcosm of mankind, representing a Britain that still stands outside Europe and cannot feel its tremors. His position is torn between an electorate hungry for German payment and the economic reality that ruin in Germany means ruin for Britain's trade and employment. In Keynes's account, his tactical flexibility matters because the Treaty's severity depended on whether British criticism stayed alert or, as too often happened, grew slack where British interests were not directly engaged.

## In the story

### [III: The Conference](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/iii-the-conference)

British Prime Minister present at the Council of Four, often in opposition to French proposals.

### [V: Reparation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/v-reparation)

Made election pledge for full war costs; involved in compromise.

### [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)

Criticized for election pledges on indemnities and for failing to prioritize economic issues at the Conference.

### [VI: Europe After the Treaty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/chapters/vi-europe-after-the-treaty)

Lloyd George is portrayed as seeking a deal that would pass muster, neglecting economic rehabilitation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_economic_consequences_of_the_peace_se/characters/lloyd_george
- 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