Austerity was codified as economic policy at the 1920 Brussels conference.

Evidence

It was essential for citizens to renounce any form of labor action or assertion of their economic rights that hindered the flow of capitalist production. Lord Robert Chalmers, former permanent secretary to the British Treasury and one of the representatives of the English delegation, stated it plainly: “Work hard, live hard, save hard.” … This motto translated into clear policies: cuts to government budgets, primarily those that funded social services like health insurance and unemployment benefits, along with wage cuts and higher taxes on basic goods. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 7

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines early austerity as work-hard-live-hard-save-hard plus budget cuts and wage freezes.
• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the sacrifice article: the 1920 Brussels austerity package is a concrete blueprint of state-imposed sacrifice.
• XREF: connects to: The liberal funding anxiety hardened into austerity doctrine by the 1920s — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 270; British austerity predated its codification at the 1920 Brussels and Genoa conferences — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 823; British monetary austerity after 1920 produced an unhealthy quasi-equilibrium for a full decade — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1731 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• British austerity predated its codification at the 1920 Brussels and Genoa conferences #qualifies (0.90) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 823
• British monetary austerity after 1920 produced an unhealthy quasi-equilibrium for a full decade #expands (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1731
• Britain pioneered austerity in 1920 and Mussolini’s Italy followed in 1922 #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 820
• The 1890 Brussels treaty committed European powers to combat slavery #complicates (0.70) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 333