Unequal austerity generates populism, nationalism, and violent movement instead of revenue

Evidence

In sum, when those at the bottom are expected to pay disproportionately for a problem created by those at the top, and when those at the top actively eschew any responsibility for that problem by blaming the state for their mistakes, not only will squeezing the bottom not produce enough revenue to fix things, it will produce an even more polarized and politicized society in which the conditions for a sustainable politics of dealing with more debt and less growth are undermined. Populism, nationalism, and calls for the return of “God and gold” in equal doses are what unequal austerity generates, and no one, not even those at the top, benefits. In such an unequal and austere world, those who start at the bottom of the income distribution will stay at the bottom, and without the possibility of progression, the “betterment of one’s condition” as Adam Smith put it, the only possible movement is a violent one. Despite what Mrs. Thatcher reportedly once said, not only is there something called society, we all live in it, rich and poor alike, for better and for worse. — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 63

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to reader’s broader austerity/neoliberalism literature and to Mattei; the violent-movement claim parallels themes in Things Fall Apart about blocked social progression. — connects to: Japanese austerity produced depression, assassination, and militarism. — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 544; Austerity has never successfully reduced debt and instead causes instability, riots, and war — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 614; The perceived war between finance and nationalist populism is a false binary (+13 more)
• SEED: Angle for an essay: the functionalist logic of why top-down austerity fails to even achieve its own revenue goals, contrasted against the moral cover it provides.

Broader Connections

• The perceived war between finance and nationalist populism is a false binary #complicates (0.75)
• Austerity is economically irrational yet politically rational for preserving capitalism #expands (0.75)
• Nationalism paired with populism breeds nostalgia and resentment politics #corroborates (0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 785
• The rhetorical conflict between ethno-nationalism and financial markets dissolved once populists took power #complicates (0.72) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 250
• Financialization and national populism form a false binary, not opposing forces #contradicts (0.72) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 390