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Austerity: The Demolition of the Welfare State and the Rise of the Zombie Economy
For the last five years, Britain has been under the hammer of ‘Austerity’. In its name, wages have been frozen, benefits have been slashed and public spending squeezed. The pain of a financial crisis caused by bankers and speculators has been borne by ordinary people all over the country – and by the poor and disabled most of all.
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2014
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March 13, 2015
"We need to understand it deep in our bones, that the cavalry is not coming. We ourselves are the cavalry."
A concise but scything assault on post WW2 neo-liberalism; Kerry-Anne Mendoza sets out to characterize the guiding principles of austerity. She details how this Machiavellian political philosophy has contributed to the wholesale degradation of the human rights and civil liberties, that were hard fought for and won from 400 years of capitalism.
This is the main message of the book, that capitalism far from producing the widely accepted belief that trickle down wealth benefits us all, instead fosters an aggregate of wealth at the top in the hands of privateers and self interested groups. This wealth is being hoarded and used to further exploit the lower echelons depriving them of their dignity and access to social mobility.
A gripping read from a genuinely angry author; Mendoza rails against the accelerating takeover of our public services by corporations. She details how this is happening from the privatization and financialization of our systems of: health care, education, policing, justice, transport and the underpinning indicator of a social democracy, a fair welfare system.
Mendoza explains the collusion between big business in the private sector and our democratically elected representatives. In a series of desperate moves our public services are being auctioned off, to be incompetently managed at every level by those who caused the system to collapse.
The resulting government policies combined with the propagation, and acceptance by the masses, of the lie that the weakest and poorest and most vulnerable members of society contributes daily to the erosion of our compassion and the elevation of a sneering and dangerous prejudice.
This misappropriation of righteous anger at a failing system has been diligently marshalled onto the least fortunate members of our society, the immigrant, the asylum seeker, the unemployed, the unskilled. I agree whole heartedly with Kerry-Anne Mendoza, we are throwing our punches at the wrong people.
An excellent read, I look forward to her next book, where the solution to these ills is promised.
A concise but scything assault on post WW2 neo-liberalism; Kerry-Anne Mendoza sets out to characterize the guiding principles of austerity. She details how this Machiavellian political philosophy has contributed to the wholesale degradation of the human rights and civil liberties, that were hard fought for and won from 400 years of capitalism.
This is the main message of the book, that capitalism far from producing the widely accepted belief that trickle down wealth benefits us all, instead fosters an aggregate of wealth at the top in the hands of privateers and self interested groups. This wealth is being hoarded and used to further exploit the lower echelons depriving them of their dignity and access to social mobility.
A gripping read from a genuinely angry author; Mendoza rails against the accelerating takeover of our public services by corporations. She details how this is happening from the privatization and financialization of our systems of: health care, education, policing, justice, transport and the underpinning indicator of a social democracy, a fair welfare system.
Mendoza explains the collusion between big business in the private sector and our democratically elected representatives. In a series of desperate moves our public services are being auctioned off, to be incompetently managed at every level by those who caused the system to collapse.
The resulting government policies combined with the propagation, and acceptance by the masses, of the lie that the weakest and poorest and most vulnerable members of society contributes daily to the erosion of our compassion and the elevation of a sneering and dangerous prejudice.
This misappropriation of righteous anger at a failing system has been diligently marshalled onto the least fortunate members of our society, the immigrant, the asylum seeker, the unemployed, the unskilled. I agree whole heartedly with Kerry-Anne Mendoza, we are throwing our punches at the wrong people.
An excellent read, I look forward to her next book, where the solution to these ills is promised.
November 28, 2021
When I was first starting to follow politics, I read quite a lot of Another Angry Voice and Scriptonite Daily. The latter was the blog of Kerry-Anne Mendoza, who went on to be a co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Canary, the leftwing news website. At the time I remember being quite excited by The Canary launching, and then being thoroughly disappointed when it turned out to be clickbait trash.
Mendoza's Scriptonite Daily blog posts were collated, revised and expanded to form her first and so far only book, with the simple title 'Austerity' and the rather overlong and clunky subtitle 'The Demolition of the Welfare State and the Rise of the Zombie Economy'.
In the age of COVID and Brexit, it's a bit of an odd experience to return to a polemic criticising the austerity policies of the Cameron government. I had vague recollections of reading the blog versions of some of the chapters, and found myself in a sort of dialogue with my younger, only-just-starting-to-be-politically-engaged self.
The book is divided into three parts: the first two ('The Demolition' and 'Austerity and Democracy') are Mendoza's; part three ('10 Economic Myths') was written by two other authors and was added as extra material to this edition. This third part is only twenty pages and effectively debunks some economics myths which might be made of straw.
Mendoza is strongest where she is criticising a specific policy, describing the harm it is causing - for example the bedroom tax, benefits cuts, and Michael Gove's education reforms. The best chapters are therefore in the first half of the book.
The book's origin as a series of blog posts hampers the flow between chapters. Despite Mendoza's attempt to add a frame narrative, there is no real sense of a narrative building across the chapters: they work as standalone pandemics about certain subjects, but are not linked very convincingly into a wider arc. I felt very little impetus to read more than one chapter at a time.
What's more, some of the chapters cover quite a range of topics, but only cursorily. For example, in Chapter 10, 'Outsourcing the justice system', Mendoza gives two pages on the growth of G4S, 2 pages of G4S failures, 3 pages about how awful the American justice system is, and 2 pages on Legal Aid cuts. These are all important topics, and none of them are covered adequately. Without the added material, the book comes to less than 200 pages: there was plenty of room for further expansion.
The frame narrative is the 'Rise of the Zombie Economy' part of the overlong subtitle. This is where the book starts to come apart, degenerating towards incoherence and conspiracism. It contains by far the worst parts of the book.
The story begins with the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, where the post-war economic order was established, and organisations such as the IMF and World Bank were founded: this 'set the roadmap for domestic and international economic policy to this day... they have overseen the transfer of power from the State to private institutions and corporations. This is the endgame of the neoliberal project - whether the key players know and intend it or not.'
It was somewhat surprising to encounter Bretton Woods presented as the beginning of Neoliberalism; most leftwing narratives date it to the late 70s with the elections of Thatcher and Reagan and the increasing influence of Milton Friedman. Neoliberalism is an imprecise and not entirely useful term, since you can stretch it to encompass quite a wide range of views; hence it becoming ubiquitous and almost meaningless in some online discourse these days.
Despite dedicating Chapter 2 to explaining the 'Zombie Economy', Mendoza never really makes clear what it is, only using vague comparisons to a 'real economy'.
It is 'a night-of-the-living dead economy that consumes value and defecates debt'.
So the Zombie Economy is about destroying value and creating debt, got it.
'The Zombie Economy exists to overcome the barriers to capital growth. It creates financial instruments that increase the paper value of an asset by financialising it.'
Ah, so the Zombie Economy is about using debt and finance to increase value, got it.
'The purpose of... the Zombie Economy is for creditors, investment banks and investors to make maximum profits from lending... The purpose is to move people away from making money by producing things, towards making money from money.'
OK, I think I get it: the Zombie Economy is about restructuring the economy away from physical industries such as manufacturing towards the financial services industry.
'It's priority is rather to transfer public spending from the real economy, where things are made and people are supported, to the Zombie Economy, where profits are made and people are abandoned.'
What? Are you saying that profits are not made in the 'real economy'? What does this even mean?
Chapter 2 begins with a section titled 'Understanding Value', where Mendoza explains that value is:
'A Good Idea + Skill + Usefulness = Added Value'
That is certainly an idea of value.
Mendoza does not explain the difference between 'Value in use' and 'Value in exchange': utility versus price. Mendoza does not talk about the price mechanism or of "value being in the eye of the beholder".
Indeed, her presentation of the Zombie Economy seems to rest on the belief that 'Value in use' is the correct, good, proper, real, value, the one used in her so-called real economy, whereas 'Value in exchange' is the evil, false value used in the 'Zombie Economy'.
After giving her definition of value, Mendoza then complains that 'the problem is, this has ceased to be the way our economy has actually worked for some considerable time (if it ever was)… The way most wealth is accumulated today is not based on this simple premise of adding value by creating something useful and being rewarded for that contribution.' Sounds like there might be something missing from this analysis.
There are many things missing from her analysis.
I expected the topic of 'Zombie Banks' to come up at some point in a book supposedly about the 'Zombie Economy'. Nope. I would expect a book about Austerity to talk about the international bond market and bond yields. Nope. The famous, and famously debunked, paper 'Growth in a Time of Debt' gets a brief mention in explaining the turn towards austerity, but there is no real attempt to understand the motives behind those implementing austerity: they may as well be cartoon villains.
In her overall conclusion, Mendoza returns to her frame narrative to talk about 'The endgame of Austerity':
'The inevitable endgame of neoliberalism is corporate fascism, and the de-civilisation of our world. The only way out is to abandon capitalism in all its forms... French poet Charles Baudelaire once wrote 'the devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.' This is the trick pulled by the neoliberal project. Convince billions of people that there is no plan'
We've reached the part of the book about sinister plots to take over the world and destroy civilisation.
And the only way out is to reject all forms of capitalism - unfortunately she does not explain this solution in detail, as 'the purpose of this book is not to present solutions in detail.' She teases a future book that will explore this, but it hasn't come out yet.
There are good things in this book - the polemics against specific policies are well done - but the whole is ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying. There are better books out there which feel like complete, properly structured books, with a proper narrative and consistent argument.
Stolen: How Finance Destroyed the Economy and Corrupted our Politics by Grace Blakeley covers what I think Mendoza was trying to say with her 'Zombie Economy' stuff, but with coherence and an actual narrative arc.
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Blyth gives a thorough rundown of the theoretical underpinnings of austerity and the effects it has had when variously implemented across the world.
Mendoza's Scriptonite Daily blog posts were collated, revised and expanded to form her first and so far only book, with the simple title 'Austerity' and the rather overlong and clunky subtitle 'The Demolition of the Welfare State and the Rise of the Zombie Economy'.
In the age of COVID and Brexit, it's a bit of an odd experience to return to a polemic criticising the austerity policies of the Cameron government. I had vague recollections of reading the blog versions of some of the chapters, and found myself in a sort of dialogue with my younger, only-just-starting-to-be-politically-engaged self.
The book is divided into three parts: the first two ('The Demolition' and 'Austerity and Democracy') are Mendoza's; part three ('10 Economic Myths') was written by two other authors and was added as extra material to this edition. This third part is only twenty pages and effectively debunks some economics myths which might be made of straw.
Mendoza is strongest where she is criticising a specific policy, describing the harm it is causing - for example the bedroom tax, benefits cuts, and Michael Gove's education reforms. The best chapters are therefore in the first half of the book.
The book's origin as a series of blog posts hampers the flow between chapters. Despite Mendoza's attempt to add a frame narrative, there is no real sense of a narrative building across the chapters: they work as standalone pandemics about certain subjects, but are not linked very convincingly into a wider arc. I felt very little impetus to read more than one chapter at a time.
What's more, some of the chapters cover quite a range of topics, but only cursorily. For example, in Chapter 10, 'Outsourcing the justice system', Mendoza gives two pages on the growth of G4S, 2 pages of G4S failures, 3 pages about how awful the American justice system is, and 2 pages on Legal Aid cuts. These are all important topics, and none of them are covered adequately. Without the added material, the book comes to less than 200 pages: there was plenty of room for further expansion.
The frame narrative is the 'Rise of the Zombie Economy' part of the overlong subtitle. This is where the book starts to come apart, degenerating towards incoherence and conspiracism. It contains by far the worst parts of the book.
The story begins with the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, where the post-war economic order was established, and organisations such as the IMF and World Bank were founded: this 'set the roadmap for domestic and international economic policy to this day... they have overseen the transfer of power from the State to private institutions and corporations. This is the endgame of the neoliberal project - whether the key players know and intend it or not.'
It was somewhat surprising to encounter Bretton Woods presented as the beginning of Neoliberalism; most leftwing narratives date it to the late 70s with the elections of Thatcher and Reagan and the increasing influence of Milton Friedman. Neoliberalism is an imprecise and not entirely useful term, since you can stretch it to encompass quite a wide range of views; hence it becoming ubiquitous and almost meaningless in some online discourse these days.
Despite dedicating Chapter 2 to explaining the 'Zombie Economy', Mendoza never really makes clear what it is, only using vague comparisons to a 'real economy'.
It is 'a night-of-the-living dead economy that consumes value and defecates debt'.
So the Zombie Economy is about destroying value and creating debt, got it.
'The Zombie Economy exists to overcome the barriers to capital growth. It creates financial instruments that increase the paper value of an asset by financialising it.'
Ah, so the Zombie Economy is about using debt and finance to increase value, got it.
'The purpose of... the Zombie Economy is for creditors, investment banks and investors to make maximum profits from lending... The purpose is to move people away from making money by producing things, towards making money from money.'
OK, I think I get it: the Zombie Economy is about restructuring the economy away from physical industries such as manufacturing towards the financial services industry.
'It's priority is rather to transfer public spending from the real economy, where things are made and people are supported, to the Zombie Economy, where profits are made and people are abandoned.'
What? Are you saying that profits are not made in the 'real economy'? What does this even mean?
Chapter 2 begins with a section titled 'Understanding Value', where Mendoza explains that value is:
'A Good Idea + Skill + Usefulness = Added Value'
That is certainly an idea of value.
Mendoza does not explain the difference between 'Value in use' and 'Value in exchange': utility versus price. Mendoza does not talk about the price mechanism or of "value being in the eye of the beholder".
Indeed, her presentation of the Zombie Economy seems to rest on the belief that 'Value in use' is the correct, good, proper, real, value, the one used in her so-called real economy, whereas 'Value in exchange' is the evil, false value used in the 'Zombie Economy'.
After giving her definition of value, Mendoza then complains that 'the problem is, this has ceased to be the way our economy has actually worked for some considerable time (if it ever was)… The way most wealth is accumulated today is not based on this simple premise of adding value by creating something useful and being rewarded for that contribution.' Sounds like there might be something missing from this analysis.
There are many things missing from her analysis.
I expected the topic of 'Zombie Banks' to come up at some point in a book supposedly about the 'Zombie Economy'. Nope. I would expect a book about Austerity to talk about the international bond market and bond yields. Nope. The famous, and famously debunked, paper 'Growth in a Time of Debt' gets a brief mention in explaining the turn towards austerity, but there is no real attempt to understand the motives behind those implementing austerity: they may as well be cartoon villains.
In her overall conclusion, Mendoza returns to her frame narrative to talk about 'The endgame of Austerity':
'The inevitable endgame of neoliberalism is corporate fascism, and the de-civilisation of our world. The only way out is to abandon capitalism in all its forms... French poet Charles Baudelaire once wrote 'the devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.' This is the trick pulled by the neoliberal project. Convince billions of people that there is no plan'
We've reached the part of the book about sinister plots to take over the world and destroy civilisation.
And the only way out is to reject all forms of capitalism - unfortunately she does not explain this solution in detail, as 'the purpose of this book is not to present solutions in detail.' She teases a future book that will explore this, but it hasn't come out yet.
There are good things in this book - the polemics against specific policies are well done - but the whole is ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying. There are better books out there which feel like complete, properly structured books, with a proper narrative and consistent argument.
Stolen: How Finance Destroyed the Economy and Corrupted our Politics by Grace Blakeley covers what I think Mendoza was trying to say with her 'Zombie Economy' stuff, but with coherence and an actual narrative arc.
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Blyth gives a thorough rundown of the theoretical underpinnings of austerity and the effects it has had when variously implemented across the world.
April 9, 2025
Obviously somewhat outdated now but still very helpful
April 24, 2016
Austerity: The Demolition of the Welfare State and the Rise of the Zombie Economy by Kerry-anne Mendoza is a book that everyone who cares about the state of the United Kingdom - and the world - should read.
The author sets out clearly what is happening in the U.K. - it is what, for years, I've been calling "the hidden agenda". I was relieved, in a way, to read this book, as it has clarified my thoughts. However, it probably hasn't improved the state of my blood pressure! The anger I feel at the politicians who have followed neoliberal policies at the expense of the majority is boundless.
Please read this book, if you are wondering what has gone wrong with our country - our world. It is not some fabricated, pseudo-factual rant; it is a well-researched, extremely readable book, which we need to take seriously.
The author sets out clearly what is happening in the U.K. - it is what, for years, I've been calling "the hidden agenda". I was relieved, in a way, to read this book, as it has clarified my thoughts. However, it probably hasn't improved the state of my blood pressure! The anger I feel at the politicians who have followed neoliberal policies at the expense of the majority is boundless.
Please read this book, if you are wondering what has gone wrong with our country - our world. It is not some fabricated, pseudo-factual rant; it is a well-researched, extremely readable book, which we need to take seriously.
January 6, 2023
The author successfully gives some pretty terrible examples of specific policies and this is where the book it strongest. However one can never quite escape the feeling that the book, as a polemic, is never attacking its "enemy" at it's strongest points but rather at its weakest. The amount of source drawn from the Guardian or other left leaning sites after each chapter does little to counter this conclusion.
Overall a decent book, but I kinda got the feeling I wasn't really being challenged, it seemed to just confirm my own left-leaning ideas, and when that happens my criticial thinking alarms go off. I'm sure the "reality" is more complex than being presented here, perhaps the greatest failiure of the book as a polemic is that it doesn't really manage to mask that, it never convinces me that it is being entirely honest. Not that it isn't "honest" in the facts it presents, more "honest" in trying to be truly objective rather than pandering to its readers.
Overall a decent book, but I kinda got the feeling I wasn't really being challenged, it seemed to just confirm my own left-leaning ideas, and when that happens my criticial thinking alarms go off. I'm sure the "reality" is more complex than being presented here, perhaps the greatest failiure of the book as a polemic is that it doesn't really manage to mask that, it never convinces me that it is being entirely honest. Not that it isn't "honest" in the facts it presents, more "honest" in trying to be truly objective rather than pandering to its readers.
September 3, 2021
There are two kinds of polemics: good polemics, and bad polemics. This is a polemic. It is not a good one.
January 30, 2015
In the run up to our elections in May here in the U.K and the 2016 U.S elections and in light of the recent Greek election results, this may be one of the most important books you will ever read. Kerry Anne Mendoza has valiantly took on the incessant stream of pro government/pro corporation lies that emanate from all popular forms of media. Focusing primarily on the UK, the author lays out clearly with ample proof how the social systems we have come to treasure are being systematically destroying by wanton greed. Education, The welfare state, the NHS and our rights to freedom and privacy, our justice and legal system, the very pillars of society sacrificed on the alter of mass profit for a select few. Be prepared for harrowing accounts of the tragic loss of life and livelihood of the most vulnerable in society, at the same time by reading 'Austerity' you will be armed with the knowledge of truth and the ability to debunk and disprove the web of lies that is turning everyday disenfranchised poor people into raging hate filled xenophobes. If you really want answers and really want to know who is accountable, this is essential reading for you.
June 7, 2015
This is a magnificent book and an absolute credit to the author. Mendoza explains the lie of austerity and how it is an ideology that destroys any hope or opportunity for social justice. This book explains how - even though the Global Financial Crisis demonstrated the deep, destructive errors in neoliberalism - the ideology has continued to grow in power. The impact on public education and house, and dreadful labour conditions including zero hour contracts, is presented.
Until the dark and debilitating lie of neoliberal ideologies is revealed, such as through this book, a balanced economy that considers human rights and ecological responsibility will never emerge. We will remain in zombie economies, eating the flesh of the less fortunate.
Until the dark and debilitating lie of neoliberal ideologies is revealed, such as through this book, a balanced economy that considers human rights and ecological responsibility will never emerge. We will remain in zombie economies, eating the flesh of the less fortunate.
January 4, 2020
Not the easiest read but sets out devastating details on the destruction of the UK welfare state. A must read if you want to know what is actually going on inside the NHS.
Read
December 8, 2022This was a long old slog of a read but that’s just Uni lyf getting in the way, the book itself was very digestible.
As someone with an interest in politics and absolutely no interest in economics, but a need to back up my political opinions on something (you see my issue here) this book was perfect for bolstering my political views. You know those times where you know there’s a reason you hate the tories and you’re SO right when you’re shouting that they give to the rich and take from the poor but you can’t remember specific examples/statistics to exemplify your point…well this provides those much needed statistics!
It explains complex economic concepts and events to an everyday reader very well, however, as a result of this I found some of the conclusions the writer draws quite simplistic (felt quite textbooky) and at times the conclusions she draws from the research seem somewhat tenuous. However, maybe that’s just my limited knowledge of economic theory- who am I to criticise!? Either way it was still a very enjoyable read and I would make this required reading if I could just to give people a better knowledge of the capitalist system and our place within that.
As someone with an interest in politics and absolutely no interest in economics, but a need to back up my political opinions on something (you see my issue here) this book was perfect for bolstering my political views. You know those times where you know there’s a reason you hate the tories and you’re SO right when you’re shouting that they give to the rich and take from the poor but you can’t remember specific examples/statistics to exemplify your point…well this provides those much needed statistics!
It explains complex economic concepts and events to an everyday reader very well, however, as a result of this I found some of the conclusions the writer draws quite simplistic (felt quite textbooky) and at times the conclusions she draws from the research seem somewhat tenuous. However, maybe that’s just my limited knowledge of economic theory- who am I to criticise!? Either way it was still a very enjoyable read and I would make this required reading if I could just to give people a better knowledge of the capitalist system and our place within that.
May 31, 2021
This is a powerful account of how our democracy has been eroded away over the last 70 years. From the creation of the NHS and the welfare state bringing in a new dawn of a more equal society to its destruction by Friedman-led economic policies and neoliberalism. Mendoza makes difficult concepts easier to grasp and when the numbers aren’t shocking enough, she illustrates the point with individual stories. This should be read by everyone and be a set text in schools. However, given the fact that the SOS for Education has mandated that anti-capitalist rhetoric should not be taught I can’t see it happening any time soon. I finished it and half expected the police to knock on my door for reading such heresy. Especially as it’s a matter of public record that I have read it - I borrowed it from the library. And, of course, I’m reviewing it here, even though nobody uses this site any more. Owned by Amazon, I believe. Jeff Bezos would hate this book.
July 7, 2021
A little bit dated however still massively relevant to British politics. At first I thought this would purely be a critique of Conservative austerity policies, however, the author does a great job of highlighting austerity as a tool used by the political elite in the continuance of dominance over the working class (yet naturally, this is concentrated on Tory rule). Personally, I think this is a fundamental read for any member of the British electorate.
September 14, 2020
Rarely has a book made me so angry and so appalled at the actions of our government and the selfishness of those with money and power. A real wake up call for anyone who is willing to listen.
August 27, 2021
A clearly written take down of modern politics.
December 22, 2024
This is a profoundly disturbing book. Everyone should read it.
May 14, 2025
Didn’t finish the whole book, but a fairly interesting read despite being outdated. Having said that, I did find it a bit of a slog to read compared to other books on similar topics.
February 14, 2016
When the financial crash finally lurched into view in 2007-8, some commentators speculated that this could be the end of capitalism as we know it. The de-regulated free market had failed; boom and bust had never been vanquished. Something had to change, and It did, but it was in a cementing and furthering of the very system that had caused the chaos in the first place.
By 2010, the myth that it was actually government overspending (not the rotten banking system) that had caused devastation, was being fed into the public's consciousness. We were told the only way to rectify this was for us all to 'tighten our belts' as 'we are all in this together'. This idea quickly took hold - thanks to a media thoroughly entrenched within the establishment - and a new age of austerity was born.
Reading this book a few months on from the UK general election ( in which all major parties were advocating further cuts to public services) has been eye opening. Far from being a necessary evil, austerity is an ideological progression of Neoliberal policies that have been fermenting since the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944. In Britain today, we are seeing the demonisation of ethnic minorities, refugees, disabled people, those on welfare and even junior doctors! The NHS, police force, councils, fire brigade, libraries, charities, social care, and many more, have all been slashed to near extinction. All of this serves t the purpose of the transfer of public funds into private hands or to provides the smokescreen to allow that to happen.
Where does all this end? It doesn't. It gets worse. The secretive TTIP deal, between the EU and US, is the next (final?) stage of this 'corporate fascism'. Big corporations will be able to sue national governments if they implement policies which infringe on their ability to make profit. Regulation on the use of certain pesticides and other food safety regulations will be abolished. Those who are pro - TTIP claim this is unjust scaremongering and there is nothing to fear - if true, then why the secrecy? Personally I could count on one hand people I know who have actually heard of this, as it is barely reported.
This is a truly brilliant book, which everyone should read.
By 2010, the myth that it was actually government overspending (not the rotten banking system) that had caused devastation, was being fed into the public's consciousness. We were told the only way to rectify this was for us all to 'tighten our belts' as 'we are all in this together'. This idea quickly took hold - thanks to a media thoroughly entrenched within the establishment - and a new age of austerity was born.
Reading this book a few months on from the UK general election ( in which all major parties were advocating further cuts to public services) has been eye opening. Far from being a necessary evil, austerity is an ideological progression of Neoliberal policies that have been fermenting since the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944. In Britain today, we are seeing the demonisation of ethnic minorities, refugees, disabled people, those on welfare and even junior doctors! The NHS, police force, councils, fire brigade, libraries, charities, social care, and many more, have all been slashed to near extinction. All of this serves t the purpose of the transfer of public funds into private hands or to provides the smokescreen to allow that to happen.
Where does all this end? It doesn't. It gets worse. The secretive TTIP deal, between the EU and US, is the next (final?) stage of this 'corporate fascism'. Big corporations will be able to sue national governments if they implement policies which infringe on their ability to make profit. Regulation on the use of certain pesticides and other food safety regulations will be abolished. Those who are pro - TTIP claim this is unjust scaremongering and there is nothing to fear - if true, then why the secrecy? Personally I could count on one hand people I know who have actually heard of this, as it is barely reported.
This is a truly brilliant book, which everyone should read.
April 5, 2015
Excellent book detailing the rationale behind Austerity as a programme and how and why it is failing. Examines the role of Corporate power and how so called democracies are in fact becoming corporate fascist states, with the State being more and more controlled by Corporate interests.
Two quotes from the book: this is actually a quote from US President Franklin Roosevelt, which is quoted in the book; "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power."
Second quote, this one is Mendoza"s: Opposing Austerity while supporting capitalism is as futile as pouring water on a fire with one hand and petrol with the other."
The book elaborates greatly on how corporate power has grown and continues to do so. It also shows how democracy is being eroded and draconian laws are being implemented to reduce freedoms. Austerity is shown to be failing the majority and that it is a political choice rather than an economic necessity.
Two quotes from the book: this is actually a quote from US President Franklin Roosevelt, which is quoted in the book; "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power."
Second quote, this one is Mendoza"s: Opposing Austerity while supporting capitalism is as futile as pouring water on a fire with one hand and petrol with the other."
The book elaborates greatly on how corporate power has grown and continues to do so. It also shows how democracy is being eroded and draconian laws are being implemented to reduce freedoms. Austerity is shown to be failing the majority and that it is a political choice rather than an economic necessity.
February 5, 2015
This is a must-read book that exposes with great clarity and fluency the disastrous impact on public services of the neo-liberal agenda. It is concise, challenging and damning of the misguided thinking that allows the destruction of Britain's excellent public services by the 'saintly' power of market forces. It compels the reader to ask why the cost of everything in our national treasury of services, transport, health, social service, is being allowed to deteriorate, increasing the cost to the taxpayer and causing the destruction of essential public service, the lowering of wages and damage to the morale of working people. Austerity, Mendoza argues, is not a necessity caused by the damage to financial system in the 2007 crash, but a deliberate policy that accelerates the growth of the super-rich class, sanctifies corporate tax-evasion and shifts the financial risk on to the taxpayer. Read it before you vote in May!
March 18, 2015
I hate capitalism even more after reading this book, it covers everything from the propaganda thrown at us by the mainstream media. The false illusion that UKIP are anti establishment when they clearly fit the opposite. The hammering of the poor and disabled used as an excuse from the government to divert attention away from the real people at the top, the the transfer of public money to private pockets to the 1 percent. A lot of great information is in this book, and it is another dose of caffine badly needed that keeps my ongoing awakening fresh.
May 11, 2015
Neoliberalism unveiled - somewhat blunt but straight to the point. Mendoza succeeds in explaining why we are already in dire straits with the slow and rhetorically disguised dismantling of the welfare State in favor of Corporate power. On the road to worse times unless ordinary people en masse wake up from their self complacent passivity.
August 16, 2016
Packed full of interesting (but depressing) information - took me a lot longer to read than any other ~200 page book. Some brilliant examples which I'm sure I'll use in my future discussions of capitalism, neoliberalism and Austerity!
July 19, 2016
Such an eye opening book.
It's easy to read, as the chapters are set out in a way that you can put it down at any point without losing track of things.
Highly recommended if you want to be more aware of the current system here in the U.K.
It's easy to read, as the chapters are set out in a way that you can put it down at any point without losing track of things.
Highly recommended if you want to be more aware of the current system here in the U.K.
May 13, 2015
I wish I could make everybody sit down and read this!
June 4, 2016
A little rough around the edges in places but a very good read.
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