Austerity disciplines workers within both colonizer and colonized nations alike

Evidence

While it is true that some nations benefit from globalized capitalism more than others, and that this globalization is not natural but the result of political decisions with a colonial history, it is equally important to note that the very concept of national unity is a falsehood. Even in the richest economies, people’s suffering persists. Israel is among the most unequal developed nations in the world, with its working class bearing the brunt of capitalist austerity. Nearly two million Israelis, about twenty percent of the population, live below the poverty line, including almost one-third of the country’s children. And even within the most fragile countries, the elites reap enormous benefits from the status quo of dependency that they collaborate to maintain. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 339

Categorization

• XREF: Reinforces Mattei’s core thesis that austerity is class discipline — connects back to her earlier chapters (Italy, Chile) and the provocation that democracy is anti-capitalism by showing national framing obscures class. — connects to: IMF austerity economists reused the fascist playbook of labor discipline — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 231; Austerity since colonial times has devastated the global periphery — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 288; Austerity policies themselves are coercive instruments of discipline on populations — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 725 (+4 more)