Episode 14 - The Origins of Austerity

The structural limitations austerity imposes on spending and wages ensure that, so for the vast majority of those living in a society ‘work hard, play hard’ is more than an expression of toughness; it’s the only path to survival…

There is often the misconception that austerity is a fairly recent phenomenon that has been utilised to usher in a period of more responsible spending. Such claims are explored in the ‘Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism’ to reveal that the origins of austerity in fact date back to the 1920’s and had been used to prevent the general public from demanding better social, political and economic conditions.

Professor Clara Mattei is a professor in the Economics Department of The New School for Social Research, and was a 2018-2019 member of the School of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Studies. Her research contributes to the history of capitalism, exploring the critical relation between economic ideas and technocratic policy making.

Reading List:

C. Mattei, Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism (2022).