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  • Austerity

  • The History of a Dangerous Idea
  • By: Mark Blyth
  • Narrated by: Fred Stella
  • Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (275 ratings)
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Austerity cover art

Austerity

By: Mark Blyth
Narrated by: Fred Stella
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Summary

Governments today in both Europe and the United States have succeeded in casting government spending as reckless wastefulness that has made the economy worse. In contrast, they have advanced a policy of draconian budget cuts - austerity - to solve the financial crisis. We are told that we have all lived beyond our means and now need to tighten our belts. This view conveniently forgets where all that debt came from. Not from an orgy of government spending, but as the direct result of bailing out, recapitalizing, and adding liquidity to the broken banking system. Through these actions private debt was rechristened as government debt while those responsible for generating it walked away scot free, placing the blame on the state, and the burden on the taxpayer. That burden now takes the form of a global turn to austerity, the policy of reducing domestic wages and prices to restore competitiveness and balance the budget.

The problem, according to political economist Mark Blyth, is that austerity is a very dangerous idea. First of all, it doesn't work. As the past four years and countless historical examples from the last 100 years show, while it makes sense for any one state to try and cut its way to growth, it simply cannot work when all states try it simultaneously: all we do is shrink the economy. In the worst case, austerity policies worsened the Great Depression and created the conditions for seizures of power by the forces responsible for the Second World War: the Nazis and the Japanese military establishment. As Blyth amply demonstrates, the arguments for austerity are tenuous and the evidence thin. Rather than expanding growth and opportunity, the repeated revival of this dead economic idea has almost always led to low growth along with increases in wealth and income inequality. Austerity demolishes the conventional wisdom, marshaling an army of facts to demand that we recognize austerity for what it is, and what it costs us.

©2013 Oxford University Press (P)2014 Audible Inc.

What listeners say about Austerity

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    3 out of 5 stars

Economically heavy

I gave this book a go, as I was interested in the subject matter. I would only recommend to a serious follower of economic theory as it is too in depth and jargon heavy for the dabbler like myself.

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13 people found this helpful

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An enlightening read

This is something that that everyone of the voting public should be aware of. The author pulls no puches ans cites each one of his points with a valid reference. His conclusions are logical and feasible and delivered in plain and explained language.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

politicians should hang their heads in shame

very good content, dubious delivery but not distracting enough to stop you listening.

book has an obvious bias but then so does the policy of austerity

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8 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Really interesting but definitely not entry level.

The content is very enlightening and well thought out. However, as someone who hadn't read much on economics before the learning curve was rather steep.

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7 people found this helpful

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Hugely enlightening.

Was expecting quite a dry factual story. Found the whole book hugely enlightening with excellent cross referenced examples to prove thesis. Very well narrated keeping my attention through some very complex issues throughout.

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7 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars

Not for the layman

This book may be interesting to specialists in the field but for a layman with a general interest in economic theory, this book is way too technical and complicated, and I got completely lost. It is filled with too much detail and facts and figures used to evidence the points being made, which made it hard for me to grasp the core thread of the arguments. About three hours from the end I gave up, having learned almost nothing.

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6 people found this helpful

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  • D.
  • 01-01-19

Mark Blyth is one of the few experts strongly arguing

against mainstream neoliberal economy religion (which is in my opinion nothing else but legalized and enforced madness). Mark Blyth is explaining the economy politics with convincing, common sense arguments and the historical results in the real world, not in some neoliberal fantasy. For me it is particularly interesting the part of the book which is describing how the gold standard was damaging and deflating the economies creating prosperity only for rentier class and devastation for everybody else. Book is also good historical overview of idiotic economy ideas which have still such strong influence in today’s economy policies, particularly in EU. I also like his ideas about taxation. I follow Mark Blyth lectures/ interviews on YouTube and I’m just missing his humor in this book. If you are laymen in this area like me, for self education I also strongly recommend other 2 authors: Michael Hudson and Steve Keen.

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5 people found this helpful

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Very disappointing book

l have a lot of respect for Prof. Blyth but l was bounced out of the book when he wrote that no one could of predicted the 2007/8 Credit Crunch and Millennial Depression that we have been living through for the last decade.
When certain sections were removed from the Glass Seagall act, it opened the flood gates. Dr. Michael Burry MD and others saw this coming, articles were written, warnings given and no one was paying attention.
Austerity is a weapon used against the poor and there is a lot more of them! Shame.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Still not convinced that austerity is bad

The author honestly states in the beginning what his views are and further argues against austerity listing why it doesn't work.

Chapters focusing on history are interesting but not entirely convincing that liberal economic theories are wrong even though these are seeing frugality and austerity in terms of moral values- even so, what's wrong in this - is simple consumption better just because it means people are employed?

Following chapters get even more technical as author disputes particular articles by selected economists.

To summarise - author gives good points against austerity and proves that crisis starts with private banks and is than paid by governments but the bottom line is your opinion about the role of the state and responsibility of the individual for his / her choices.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

Really enjoyed this book. The technical explanations are aimed at economics students, but were well explained for the uninitiated (me). Chapters 1-3 are breath taking. Mark Blyth has lectured on this topic at the RSA which is an excellent synopsis of his theory on Austerity do check it out,

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2 people found this helpful