The Capital Order

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For over a century, governments facing financial crises have turned to austerity—cuts to wages, fiscal spending, and public benefits—to regain solvency. While effective in appeasing creditors, these policies have severely impacted social and economic welfare globally. As austerity remains a favored strategy among struggling states, a critical question arises: was solvency ever the true aim? Political economist Clara E. Mattei explores the intellectual roots of austerity, revealing its primary motive: the protection of capital and capitalism during times of social upheaval. Tracing modern austerity back to interwar Britain and Italy, she highlights how the threat of working-class power post-World War I led to top-down economic policies that favored owners, suppressed workers, and established a rigid economic hierarchy. The success of these policies is evident in the enrichment of specific groups, including employers and foreign-trade interests, who gained power and capital at labor's expense. Mattei argues that the real value of austerity lies in its ability to preserve entrenched privilege and eliminate alternatives to capitalism. Utilizing newly uncovered archival material from Britain and Italy, much of it translated for the first time, she provides a critical examination of austerity's rise and its influence on modern economics and political power.