Chapter 17 cairns hand

On August 2, 1914, the philosopher Russell met the economist Keynes in the courtyard of Trinity College, Cambridge University.Russell wanted to talk about what to do if war broke out, but Keynes was in a hurry to go to the British Treasury in London and couldn't talk to him.The situation is tense and everyone panics. Once the bank announces some special measures, the situation will become even more chaotic.Keynes hoped to borrow a motorcycle and drive to London.Russell said, isn't there a train from Cambridge to London? "It's too late!" Cairns became more and more anxious, and turned around to find a relative who lived nearby.Not only did the relative own a motorbike, but he also promised to drive him to London right away.The motorcycle was driving fast, and the economist who taught economics at Cambridge and edited the economics journal was soon at the Treasury.

Within a few days, the flames of war spread.After seeing the memorandum on the payment of coins submitted by Keynes, the Minister of Finance said: "Who is Keynes?" The person next to him told him that Keynes taught at Cambridge and knew a lot of economics.The minister said: "Why do you need an outsider's advice?" However, the finance minister read the memorandum carefully, absorbed a lot of nutrients, and firmly opposed the suspension of coin payment policy. "Most of the money should be allocated to pay wages, otherwise workers will lose their jobs." There was such a sentence in Keynes' letter to his mother at the time; a set of far-reaching economic theories had been slowly established.Two or three days after Britain entered the war, Keynes met and chatted with several anti-war friends such as Russell. Keynes said: "The bank is too timid, has no proposition, and has no leadership courage." When he talked about the gold standard issue, he said: " The status of gold should only be like that of a constitutional monarch, so that a new page of history can be opened." Keynes was finally officially recruited to the Ministry of Finance.

The work of the Ministry of Finance was heavier than teaching and editing magazines, so Keynes had to go to Vanessa's manor on weekends to refresh his mind and body.He usually arrives on Friday night, goes upstairs with a large package of Treasury documents in his hand, and stays locked in his room until everyone has lunch the next day before going downstairs.At this time, the wastebasket in his room was already filled with a large pile of documents he had processed.The afternoon sun in the suburbs of London is exceptionally bright, and Cairns likes to go out and clear the weeds on the path in front of his house.He didn't mow up weeds like the others; he always knelt down on a little straw mat and with a pocketknife uprooted every weed.This was of course time-consuming; but Cairns did it every time he came, and before long the gravel path, a yard or two long, was clean and pleasing to the eye.

He is a person who best turns theory into practice.It was his theory that a gravel path should be full of weeds; it was practice to uproot every weed with a pocketknife.A path without weeds is indeed better than a path with weeds.At that time, a senior government official said: "Keynes is an artist, plus a bit of a genius." An artist must have a careful heart, "willing to lend money to a desperate friend to buy poison to commit suicide"; a genius must have sharp eyes, sharp enough to be able to Blurred "Einstein's face was Shakespeare's forehead with Charlie Chaplin's face".Keynes also had "smooth hands, with long, dexterous fingers," and loved to notice people's hands most of his life.So, in early 1919, Keynes's trip to Paris as chief representative of the British Treasury to the Peace Conference gave him a chance to watch the fingers of the dignitaries at the negotiating table.French Prime Minister Clemenceau seemed to know that Keynes's eyes would not let go of other people's fingers, so he deliberately put on black leather gloves and would not take them off all the time. Keynes had to look at the hands of US President Wilson.The president's hands are "very capable and powerful", but "always feel slow and can't use any skills".A few years later, Keynes went to the White House to meet President Roosevelt, and thought that Roosevelt's hands were "quite steady, but not smart, and without means"; he also noticed that the president's nails were "short and round, full of businessman's fingers."

Those who go out to be negotiators had better have a pair of business hands; Keynes's hands were as "long and nimble" as Russell's and Strachey's hands--Cambridge's hands.He also likes to hide his hand in the sleeve of the other hand, reminding people of the spirit of Cambridge people who are subconsciously born rather than worldly.Of course, those anti-war friends in Cambridge did not approve of him working in the Ministry of Finance; these people’s political views were generally correct, but they couldn’t see the political undercurrent at the time and didn’t know the government’s intentions.Keynes saw it and knew it; but when his friends were talking hotly, he could not stop them aloud from saying: "It is not so. The fact is..." For the fact is secret.He has to be responsible for himself and the society in which he lives.When the society is in an emergency, everyone has the obligation to do what he thinks he should do, but his approach is always gentle and reasonable.Later, when he saw that the treaty drawn up by the peace conference violated his temper, insulted his firm belief in forgiveness, and hurt his professional knowledge, he politely submitted his resignation letter and returned to the quiet Cambridge, back to his study Go, stay with his collection of books and paintings, with the same sincere wish, wrote "Economic Consequences of Peace" with his hand, no regrets at all, arrived in Cambridge looking for a motorcycle on August 2, 1914 That part of the journey the treasury went to.

Negotiations, meetings, and everything else can't end to everyone's satisfaction.Because different people have different hands.It is of course important to be concerned about the scenery ahead; whether the retreat behind is a weedy path or a clean and pleasant gravel path is also very important.Everyone has the right to write a resignation letter to the society.