Jean de Largentaye, the Ardent Translator of The General Theory

The translation into French of Keynes’s General Theory was the spontaneous initiative of Jean de Largentaye, a young Inspecteur des Finances who himself suffered unemployment. His independent mind made him immediately grasp Keynes’s salutary message for democracies under stress. Like Keynes, Largentaye was a staunch supporter of individual liberties. He embraced the analysis of fiat money and understood that liberalized capital accounts constrained employment policies.