by Corey Robin on May 4, 2013
A minor footnote to the controversy over Niall Ferguson’s homophobic remarks about John Maynard Keynes. Ferguson claimed that the key to Keynes’s economic philosophy is a selfishness and short-termism rooted in the fact that Keynes was gay and had no children. No kids=no future=big deficits.
What is supposed to have prompted Ferguson to these meditations was a question comparing Keynes to Edmund Burke. According to the main report, “Ferguson responded to a question about Keynes’ famous philosophy of self-interest versus the economic philosophy of Edmund Burke, who believed there was a social contract among the living, as well as the dead.” As Ferguson explained in the apology he subsequently issued, “The point I had made in my presentation was that in the long run our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are alive, and will have to deal with the consequences of our economic actions.” [click to continue…]
by Henry Farrell on May 4, 2013
As previously foretold [here](https://crookedtimber.org/2013/04/27/upcoming-felix-gilman-seminar/). The participants:
Miriam Burstein is an associate professor at Brockport. She [previously participated](https://crookedtimber.org/2005/01/11/undoing-messiahs/) in our seminar on China Mieville’s *Iron Council.* She blogs at [The Little Professor](http://www.littleprofessor.typepad.com/).
Henry Farrell blogs here.
Maria Farrell blogs here.
John Holbo blogs here.
“Lizardbreath” is a pseudonymous lawyer, who likes writing about cake. She blogs at [Unfogged](http://www.unfogged.com/).
Abigail Nussbaum is a programmer in Tel Aviv and the senior review editor for [Strange Horizons](http://www.strangehorizons.com/). She blogs at [Asking the Wrong Questions](http://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/).
Francis Spufford is the author of several books, including Red Plenty, which was the subject of a [previous CT seminar](https://crookedtimber.org/category/red-plenty-seminar/).