Austerity

Austerity has dominated Western politics since the 2008 financial crisis, but where did it come from? And why has it proved so enduring as a response to capitalist crises (real or perceived) despite appearing so unpopular? Has the nature of austerity changed over time as capitalism develops? Or does it retain a fundamental character across space and time?

Clara Mattei is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Heterodox Economics at The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She joins Chris Saltmarsh and Dillon Wamsley to discuss austerity as an elite strategy throughout capitalism's history from the interwar period to 2008; the relationship between capitalist crisis and austerity; and how it binds together liberalism and fascism; and its resilience.

Recommended reading:
1) Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism (2022)
2) Liam Stanley, 'Legitimacy gaps, taxpayer conflict, and the politics of austerity in the UK', The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (2016)
3) Liam Stanley, '‘We're Reaping What We Sowed’: Everyday Crisis Narratives and Acquiescence to the Age of Austerity', New Political Economy (2012)
4) Dillon Wamsley, 'Crisis management, new constitutionalism, and depoliticisation: recasting the politics of austerity in the US and UK, 2010–16', New Political Economy (2023)

Works referenced in this episode:
1) Antony Loewenstein, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World (2024)