This is marvelous. I know a fair amount about Orwell, but frankly have learned much of what I know of Keynes from your writing here. Would never have thought of them in conjunction with each other.
Isn’t Solnit’s book great? I wrote about it in an early Substack essay, which uses Orwell to talk about planting apple trees.
I know a lot less about Orwell than Keynes, but the parallels kept jumping out at me. I enjoyed the Solnit book a lot - started it a while back, then came back and finished it in a couple of days!
Isn’t it (Solnit’s book) lovely? I read it in a similar way, and don’t know anyone else who’s read it, so was so pleased when you mentioned it! Orwell’s non-fiction (as with you, not the fiction) was so important for me when I was young, primarily as someone who put a moral value onto seeing things clearly. Now am increasingly interested in Keynes! Is your fiction on him (other than the short story that was posted a while back), already available to read?
Yes, I've written two novels. I think Keynes is fascinating and a real hero, but I guess that's not surprising! I think as an economist he is overlooked by artistic/literary circles (although he was a prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group) but both intellectually and practically he had a huge impact, and was really trying to save civilization from political extremism (like Orwell, but Keynes was looking at the economic theory). I will message you!
Thank you Michael.
This is marvelous. I know a fair amount about Orwell, but frankly have learned much of what I know of Keynes from your writing here. Would never have thought of them in conjunction with each other.
Isn’t Solnit’s book great? I wrote about it in an early Substack essay, which uses Orwell to talk about planting apple trees.
I know a lot less about Orwell than Keynes, but the parallels kept jumping out at me. I enjoyed the Solnit book a lot - started it a while back, then came back and finished it in a couple of days!
Isn’t it (Solnit’s book) lovely? I read it in a similar way, and don’t know anyone else who’s read it, so was so pleased when you mentioned it! Orwell’s non-fiction (as with you, not the fiction) was so important for me when I was young, primarily as someone who put a moral value onto seeing things clearly. Now am increasingly interested in Keynes! Is your fiction on him (other than the short story that was posted a while back), already available to read?
Yes, I've written two novels. I think Keynes is fascinating and a real hero, but I guess that's not surprising! I think as an economist he is overlooked by artistic/literary circles (although he was a prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group) but both intellectually and practically he had a huge impact, and was really trying to save civilization from political extremism (like Orwell, but Keynes was looking at the economic theory). I will message you!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNZ5YHBY?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
Thank you! Just read the opening chapters and loved them.
Fascinating and convincing. (And crazy that it remains a buried point.)