Harvard Prof: Keynes Flawed Because He Was Gay, Childless

It's not your usual criticism of Keynesian economics: Harvard professor Niall Ferguson told a group of financial advisers this week that John Maynard Keynes' policies were flawed because he was gay and childless, and thus didn't care about future generations, reports Tom Kostigen at Financial Adviser. Ferguson also reportedly criticized Keynes' "effete" ways and said he probably liked talking about poetry better than having sex.

Assuming the account is accurate, this is "bizarre and insulting," writes Henry Blodget at Business Insider. "This is the first time we have heard a respectable academic tie another economist’s beliefs to his or her personal situation rather than his or her research," he writes. What's more, to suggest that Keynes' policies shortchange future generations suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of them, Blodget argues. If Ferguson's name rings a bell, it might because of the anti-Obama Newsweek cover he wrote last summer that got roundly trashed for inaccuracies. (More Niall Ferguson stories.)