Austerity needed strong government, which Fascism supplied

Evidence

British technocrats understood that the groundwork for insulating capitalism in Italy would take the form of austerity, and implementing that austerity would require a strong government. Th e British found those conditions in the form of Mussolini’s dictatorship; Fascism imitated the principles of austerity. Th e British were not alone in this. Similarly to the austerity motives of liberal economists within Italy they refl ected a wider international consensus that proved fundamental in order for Fascism to gain legitimacy and consolidate its rule. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1329

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to the reader’s thesis that austerity is not merely economic but requires political coercion — here given an international dimension. — connects to: Fascism’s founding political program was framed in austerity terms. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1037; Austerity unified Fascism’s laissez-faire and corporatist economic periods. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1045; Austerity served as proof of creditworthiness to international finance for the Fascist regime — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1435 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Austerity served as proof of creditworthiness to international finance for the Fascist regime #expands (0.82) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1435
• Fascist austerity dismantled postwar gains and re-separated economics from politics #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 193
• Liberal austerity and fascist repression converged in a shared coercive project #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1070
• Liberal economists supported fascist austerity despite opposing dictatorship #corroborates (0.80) — Gary Mongiovi, Austerity Is an Antidemocratic Strategy…, 107
• Democratic and Fascist austerity achieved the same compliance through different coercive means #qualifies (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1474
• Austerity, not corporativism, was the thread uniting Fascism’s laissez-faire and corporativist phases. #expands (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1620