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The Capital Order

How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism

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The Capital Order

By: Clara E. Mattei
Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
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For more than a century, governments facing financial crisis have resorted to the economic policies of austerity—cuts to wages, fiscal spending, and public benefits—as a path to solvency. Today, an important question remains: What if solvency was never the goal?

In The Capital Order, political economist Clara E. Mattei explores the intellectual origins of austerity to uncover its originating motives: the protection of capital—and indeed capitalism—in times of social upheaval from below.

Mattei traces modern austerity to its origins in interwar Britain and Italy, revealing how the threat of working-class power in the years after World War I animated a set of top-down economic policies. Where these policies "succeeded," relatively speaking, was in their enrichment of certain parties who accumulated power and capital at the expense of labor. Here, Mattei argues, is where the true value of austerity can be observed: its insulation of entrenched privilege and its elimination of all alternatives to capitalism.

Drawing on newly uncovered archival material, The Capital Order offers a damning account of the rise of austerity—and of modern economics—at the levers of contemporary political power.

©2022 The University of Chicago (P)2023 Tantor Economic History Economics Capitalism Socialism Taxation Economic disparity Economic Inequality Liberalism Economic Policy Imperialism Soviet Union Government Latin American American History US Economy Tariff Franklin D Roosevelt War Banking
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The book facilitates an in depth understanding of economic austerity and fascist political ideology. It is backs all of its arguments with data, showcasing upmost academic rigor. I can imagine reading this book would have helped to retain more of its content given its technical nature. Nevertheless the conclusions drawn are extremely valuable. The book is definitely worth a read/listen.

Insightful exploration of material economic reality

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This book is on a subject I'm really interested in and so far I'm really enjoying it. Bit the narration... how can anyone speak that slowly? if I turn it up to an acceptable speed it sounds really unnatural like halting AI. In fact the narration sounds like AI with the speed set too low. Very disappointing

I really dislike the narration

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