Austerity is a political choice, not an economic necessity | Clara Mattei and Sam Salour

Neoliberal economists present themselves as 'neutral' technocrats, but they're actually partisans for the status quo. Don't fall for it

The outcome of austerity policies in Britain and elsewhere has become painfully clear: increased child poverty and social misery; declining life expectancy; an increase in racial inequality; decaying public schools and public health and other public services; and all-around catastrophe for disabled people.

Yet the Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf recently recommended the book Austerity: When it Works and When it Doesn't as his top book to read this summer. The book is a qualified defense of austerity policies written by Alberto Alesina, Carlo Favero, and Francesco Giavazzi, an influential trio of economists and rising stars known for advising major economic institutions. "This is an extremely important book," Wolf said. The economist Kenneth Rogoff agreed, recently describing Austerity as "a towering scholarly achievement."

Clara Mattei is Assistant Professor of economics at the New School for Social Research and is currently writing a book on Austerity policies after WWI titled Capitalism, Crisis, Austerity: Britain and Italy after WWI. Sam Salour is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Santa Barbara and holds an MA in Economics from the New School for Social Research, New York City