Britain kept austerity policies in place even after their economic justifications had lapsed.

Evidence

Indeed, the Treasury and the Bank of England prolonged their dearmoney policies even aft er infl ation was curtailed. Furthermore, the British state did not loosen its fi scal belt even aft er budgetary surplus was achieved in 1920. Th e austerityinduced downturn and consequent unemployment was no economic mistake, but rather a powerful means to cool the collective temperature of an embattled working class, to create the pathway to dismantle reconstructionist plans and shift resources to the creditor classes of society. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1029

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This is the crux of the whole book’s argument — that austerity was pursued beyond any economic rationale, which is exactly the evidence that it functioned as a class weapon.
• XREF: Connects to modern austerity literature (Blyth, Streeck) and the 2010s UK austerity that outlived its stated deficit-reduction goals.
• SEED: Angle: ‘austerity’s own accountants disprove its necessity’ — a piece tracing how postwar Britain and 2010s Britain both kept austerity after surpluses were achieved.