Keynes foresaw the devastating effects of the Treaty of Versailles on the European economy. He envisaged the losses suffered by Germany and Russia being a source of major political instability in Europe. He made a fierce attack on the work of President Wilson, the French president and the British prime minister.
He examined the advisability of partially or completely cancelling war debts that had become unbearable for the smaller countries, and analyzed the dire consequences that application of the peace treaty would have for international trade and the prosperity of some regions.