Hence, the experts forged the drastic cure of austerity: a doctrine of economy and hard work, ostensibly for the good of nations (or at least their economies). As framed, austerity was about individual sacrifi ce on the part of “patriotic” citizens who had to practice frugality in lifestyle and discipline in labor. Half a century later, in 1979, the powerful Chair of the American Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, used the same mantra to tackle another great crisis: “the American standard of living must decline” (Rattner 1979), he announced, while supporting the government’s fi rm resolve to break strikes and delivering on a shocking dosage of dear money.

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 803