Austerity policies function to silence working class economic demands

Evidence

Most importantly, these policies robbed the people of all economic agency, and silenced their demands for higher wages and social redistribution, not to mention their demands for nationalization and alternative relations of production. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 774

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Austerity is voluntary deflation achieved by cutting state budgets to restore competitiveness — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 25; Austerity’s core purpose is to deepen workers’ dependence on wage labor — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 145; Regressive taxation and spending cuts serve the same class-confiscating function — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 150 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Austere economies structurally disempower those who would protest austerity #corroborates (0.90) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1541
• Austerity regimes aim to break organized labor #corroborates (0.90) — Gary Mongiovi, Austerity Is an Antidemocratic Strategy…, 83
• Austerity is an effective class-structure instrument, not an economic error #corroborates (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 142
• Monetary austerity deliberately induced recession to discipline workers. #expands (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 154
• Austerity originated after World War I as a counteroffensive against working-class unrest #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 28
• Austerity is economically irrational yet politically rational for preserving capitalism #corroborates (0.80)