German austerity doctrine predates ordoliberalism by centuries in state-directed saving

Evidence

Critical throughout Germany’s development has been the role of the state in suppressing consumption and increasing savings to provide adequate pools of capital for large-scale industrial investments, while also providing transfers to smooth, rather than block, such policies. As such, the mantra of Erst Sparen, Dann Kaufen (first save, then go shopping) to save and invest before consuming—a parsimony that Smith would have applauded—formed the austere core of German economic thought long before the 1930s, when ordoliberalism appeared. — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 359

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to Mattei’s genealogy of austerity; the ‘save before consuming’ core also touches Addison’s ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ theme of thrift as moral virtue. — connects to: Austerity’s core principles predate the twentieth century by a century of classical economics — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 718
• SEED: Angle: austerity as a German tradition that predates and survives Nazi and democratic regimes alike — a longue durée history of thrift ideology.

Broader Connections

• Austerity’s core principles predate the twentieth century by a century of classical economics #expands (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 718