Blackett took the mission to heart, and between 1916 and 1917 he traveled across Britain and the United States to zealously lecture audiences on how to “deny themselves comforts and luxuries” (Blackett 1918a, 16). In a public speech in New York City he spelled out the spirit of sacrifi ce that would become the basis of austerity: “Produce more, consume less, waste nothing . . . it does not matter whether or what you are paid for your services: spend your money and yourself in the service of your country” (ibid., 70).

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 897