Austerity
The History of a Dangerous Idea
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Austerity
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Narrated by:
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Fred Stella
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By:
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Mark Blyth
About this listen
Governments today in both Europe and the United States have succeeded in casting government spending as reckless wastefulness that has made the economy worse. In contrast, they have advanced a policy of draconian budget cuts - austerity - to solve the financial crisis. We are told that we have all lived beyond our means and now need to tighten our belts. This view conveniently forgets where all that debt came from. Not from an orgy of government spending, but as the direct result of bailing out, recapitalizing, and adding liquidity to the broken banking system. Through these actions private debt was rechristened as government debt while those responsible for generating it walked away scot free, placing the blame on the state, and the burden on the taxpayer. That burden now takes the form of a global turn to austerity, the policy of reducing domestic wages and prices to restore competitiveness and balance the budget.
The problem, according to political economist Mark Blyth, is that austerity is a very dangerous idea. First of all, it doesn't work. As the past four years and countless historical examples from the last 100 years show, while it makes sense for any one state to try and cut its way to growth, it simply cannot work when all states try it simultaneously: all we do is shrink the economy. In the worst case, austerity policies worsened the Great Depression and created the conditions for seizures of power by the forces responsible for the Second World War: the Nazis and the Japanese military establishment. As Blyth amply demonstrates, the arguments for austerity are tenuous and the evidence thin. Rather than expanding growth and opportunity, the repeated revival of this dead economic idea has almost always led to low growth along with increases in wealth and income inequality. Austerity demolishes the conventional wisdom, marshaling an army of facts to demand that we recognize austerity for what it is, and what it costs us.
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What listeners say about Austerity
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jim W
- 18-06-20
So well explained and important
Only Yanis Varoufakis can explain complicated economic ideas this well to people with little background. This book amazed me with how concrete it was. Everyone should read it so we know how pointless all this suffering is.
I would say that the first few chapters are the weakest, so persevere.
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- Steve
- 08-04-15
An enlightening read
This is something that that everyone of the voting public should be aware of. The author pulls no puches ans cites each one of his points with a valid reference. His conclusions are logical and feasible and delivered in plain and explained language.
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10 people found this helpful
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- spant
- 16-05-17
Painfully relevant
Mark Blyth had created a genuinely readable book for the non-academic and professional alike, on a very timely and poignant issue.
The narrator is ok.
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- Denis
- 09-05-16
Excellent history of the concept of austerity as an economic and political objective.
Very relevant to today's debate about what governments and central bankers should do to best manage the aftermath of the financial crisis. A powerful argument as to why austerity in general doesn't work...
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- gerrard
- 23-06-15
Great book
Really enjoyed this book. The technical explanations are aimed at economics students, but were well explained for the uninitiated (me). Chapters 1-3 are breath taking. Mark Blyth has lectured on this topic at the RSA which is an excellent synopsis of his theory on Austerity do check it out,
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2 people found this helpful
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- I. P. Gearing
- 17-07-16
Fiscal Common Sense
The apparent bankruptcy of the Austerity ideology is played through in some detail here, but with a sound sense of an audience who are not economists. Ideological, theoretical and historical perspectives are examined along with explanations of why it hasn't worked in the past, isn't working now and won't work in the future. Interesting and stimulating.
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- YKW
- 13-05-23
Interesting take on austerity
Not going to lie, this is a pretty dry subject. But the book was an easier listen than I initially imagined. At the same time don’t expect it getting your heart racing either.
I haven’t read much economic books, so this was quite interesting to hear the reasons why austerity is bad for the economy. And the case studies and evidences in the books are quite convincing. Next time when I hear the government is going to bail out banks I’m definitely going to think twice about it before deciding it’s a good idea.
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- Andrew
- 29-04-15
Hugely enlightening.
Was expecting quite a dry factual story. Found the whole book hugely enlightening with excellent cross referenced examples to prove thesis. Very well narrated keeping my attention through some very complex issues throughout.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Neil Green
- 25-08-18
Great book for anyone interested in economics
Excellent book showing why we are in the mess we are in. I found all the chapters interesting.
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- Luca Nicotra
- 16-07-15
Best book on the Crisis
Best book on the crisis in Europe and the US. And the policies implemented to deal with it. Amazingly written and masterfully narrated.
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1 person found this helpful