Th e austerity impulse is present even where it appears otherwise. So far in the twentyfi rst century, two fi nancial crises have been met with economic responses labeled “Keynesian” for their decisions to spend rather than cut. But some old habits don’t die. Aft er 2008, governments took care to save fi nancial institutions fi rst, thereby draining resources from the public in the years that followed. Th e rationale for such activities perfectly matched those that we have encountered in this book: a shift of resources from the many to the few.

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 1598