Early austerity fused consensus-building and coercion to tame post-WWI publics.

Evidence

Th e public disgust for early austerity was its crucible: austerity was rendered more antagonistic because it had to overcome— and indeed tame— an incensed public. Aft er World War I, with the gold standard in pieces, the newly enfranchised European “great public” was not simply going to accept austere policies, and the experts knew it. Th us, they devised austerity to conjoin two strategies: consensus and coercion. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 43

Categorization

• XREF: The consensus-plus-coercion dual tracks Antonio Gramsci’s hegemony theory and the reader’s earlier notes on consent manufactured by the state; also connects to the Frankfurt School’s culture-industry analysis. — connects to: British leaders at WWI’s end rejected any return to prewar conditions. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 194; Modern austerity requires managing public opinion through consensus and coercion combined — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 818; Early austerity had to overcome public outrage, requiring both consensus and coercion — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 43 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Early austerity had to overcome public outrage, requiring both consensus and coercion #exemplifies (0.90) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 43
• Modern austerity requires managing public opinion through consensus and coercion combined #expands (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 818
• Austerity needed economic theory to justify unpopular cutbacks after World War I #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 874
• Economic theory gives austerity legitimacy that complements raw state coercion #qualifies (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 861