Price of Peace

More about the book

In the spring of 1934, Virginia Woolf crafted a three-page "biographical fantasy" about her friend John Maynard Keynes, highlighting 25 themes such as politics, art, economics, and mortality. Keynes's life was rich and complex. As a young philosopher and economist at Cambridge, he balanced government service and academia. When called to the Treasury before World War I, he embraced the chance to contribute to the empire. However, witnessing the aftermath of the war and the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty, he recognized the potential for authoritarianism in the strain placed on citizens. This experience shaped a career that spanned two world wars and a global depression, where he often found himself challenging outdated ideas. His influential theories reached America and played a crucial role in FDR's New Deal during the Great Depression. Through works like The General Theory, he emerged as a foundational figure in economics. Despite his professional success, Keynes valued his ties to writers and artists, prioritizing his membership in the Bloomsbury Group. He admired his friends, including Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey, and often provided them with financial support, while they inspired his vision for society.