Can Oxford University Redeem a Fascist Dynasty?
Max Mosley never really disavowed his father’s pre- and post-war fascist activism. Should Oxford be taking his bequest?
Max Mosley (left) with his parents, Diana Mitford, and Oswald Mosley, the British Fascist leader, in 1962.
Photographer: George W. Hales/Hulton ArchiveFor centuries, rich, ruthless men have funded centers of learning as a form of spiritual money laundering and to perpetuate the glory of their name. In death as in life, they drove hard bargains.
Oxford and Cambridge, the U.K.’s ancient universities, have done well out of such bequests by comparison with their British and European rivals. But the era of scrutiny-free donations has drawn to an end; the universities face a new and testing environment when it comes to defending decisions to stash the cash and plant a prominent name plate on a new library or graduate center.