Austerity is structural to capitalism, not a 1970s neoliberal aberration.

Evidence

History reveals that austerity is not merely an aberration of the neoliberal turn in the 1970s, as is often believed. Rather, it is a structural component of our economic system. While governments tend to pass austerity policies to counter worker protests during times of labor upheaval, it remains a fixed rule of all governments within a capitalist system. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 162

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The book’s central provocation in one paragraph, and it’s what the reading purpose asks to stress-test — the claim that austerity is a permanent rule rather than a crisis response.
• XREF: connects to: Austerity was historically contingent, not inevitable — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 621; Austerity is a permanent structural rule, not a 1970s anomaly — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 162; Neoliberalism is only one phase of capitalism, not the first or worst. — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 337 (+2 more)