First, austerity policies cannot be reduced to mere fi scal or monetary policies from central government institutions. Industrial policies, public and private, that create favorable conditions for profi t and discipline workers are central to austerity as well. Indeed, as the book will show, our experts’ fi xation on debt repayment, balanced budgets, foreign exchanges, and infl ation reveals a more fundamental purpose: taming class confl ict, which is essential for the continued reproduction of capitalism.

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 47