Modern austerity requires managing public opinion through consensus and coercion combined

Evidence

In such a turbulent moment, the application of the austerity principles required an emphatic justifi cation. One of the most novel aspects of modern austerity was that, as an antidote to capitalist crisis, it could no longer dismiss or disregard the actors that were deemed responsible for that very crisis. Experts had to deal with public opinion, either through consensus or through coercion— or, most practically, through both. Th is constituted the dual strategy of austerity. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 818

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in austerity as class weapon — this is the core mechanism by which the class dimension operates, and to Gramscian hegemony theory. — connects to: Austerity self-perpetuates by generating consent for privatizing governments — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 235; Public legitimacy of economics rests on its predictive and prescriptive authority — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 679; Austerity is economically irrational yet politically rational for preserving capitalism (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Early austerity had to overcome public outrage, requiring both consensus and coercion #corroborates (0.92) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 43
• Economists depoliticized austerity by presenting class-based coercion as neutral expertise. #complicates (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1569
• Economic theory gives austerity legitimacy that complements raw state coercion #expands (0.82) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 861
• Austerity-bred consensus sustains further austerity in a self-reinforcing loop #expands (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 235
• Austerity policies themselves are coercive instruments of discipline on populations #qualifies (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 725