"The Economic Consequences of Peace" created an intense and immediate controversy for its brazen criticism of world leaders and the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. Keynes argued that as a blueprint for peace, it was destined to create tension and conflict ahead...and history proved him right when world war broke out again within a generation. The popularity of this key work, and its place in history, helped cement Keynes's status as one of the 20th century's principal economists.