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Created page with "'''Austerity''' is a political-economic programme consisting of public spending cuts, privatization, and increased taxes. It is not a neutral economic policy; rather, austerity is a policy that transfers wealth and resources from the working class to the bourgeoisie, specifically the financial oligarchy. In its simplest form, it aims to increase profitability for the ruling class by reducing necessary social programs.<ref na..."

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'''Austerity''' is a political-economic programme consisting of public spending cuts, [[privatization]], and increased [[Tax|taxes]]. It is not a neutral economic policy; rather, austerity is a policy that transfers [[wealth]] and resources from the [[Proletariat|working class]] to the [[bourgeoisie]], specifically the financial oligarchy. In its simplest form, it aims to increase [[Profit|profitability]] for the ruling class by reducing necessary social programs.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Understanding Austerity: Its Reach and Presence in the Changing Context of Work and Employment|title-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/working-in-the-context-of-austerity/understanding-austerity-its-reach-and-presence-in-the-changing-context-of-work-and-employment/02F0530EA75E52F38EECDAA30EDF76CB}}</ref>

Austerity emerges from [[Capitalism|capitalism’s]] [[Tendency of the rate of profit to fall|tendency for the rate of profit to fall]]. When [[profits]] decline, the system responds by attempting to stabilize itself through cuts in [[Healthcare|health]], [[education]], [[Retirement|pensions]], and [[Welfare state|welfare]]. It typically consists of the privatization of state assets and services, limiting [[wage]] growth and [[collective bargaining]], reducing corporate taxes while increasing consumer taxes, and implementing [[deregulation]] to maximize profits.<ref name=":0" />

Since austerity deepens inequality, reduces living standards, increases [[unemployment]], and worsens public services, it fuels [[reactionary]] parties, which typically scapegoat minorities within society for the deteriorating conditions, diverting attention from the austerity measures driven by capitalist [[Crisis theory|crises]].<ref name=":0" />

== History ==

==== The Washington Consensus ====
[[Washington Consensus|The Washington Consensus]] was a continent-wide austerity program imposed by the [[imperial core]] on [[Latin America]] in the 1980s. [[State]]-led industrial strategies were dismantled, public employment and social spending were cut, and millions became unemployed. These policies created mass impoverishment and fostered the political conditions that enabled [[Hugo Chávez]] to rise. The Washington Consensus continues to affect Latin America today, leaving behind weakened social safety nets and widened income gaps.<ref>{{Web citation|title=Washington Consensus|url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Washington-consensus}}</ref>

==== Argentina’s Déficit Cero ====
As the [[Argentine Republic|Argentine]] economy entered a deep crisis in 1998, it was suffering from the consequences of [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] policies such as privatization, [[financialization]], and dependence on the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]. The government of [[Fernando de la Rúa]] pursued austerity to service [[debt]] and appease international creditors by attacking [[Wage|wages]] and [[Retirement|pensions]], which increased [[unemployment]] and [[poverty]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=IMF|title=Argentina's Structural Reforms of the 1990s|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2000/03/pou.htm}}</ref>

The Deficit Cero Plan culminated in December 2001, when the government prevented people from withdrawing their money from [[Bank|banks]]. This event, known as the “corralito,” involved draconian cuts to public services and triggered a mass insurrection. Unemployed people, [[Proletariat|workers]], students, and some members of the [[Petite bourgeoisie|petty bourgeoisie]] looted supermarkets, occupied public spaces, and forced the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa, who fled the presidential palace in a helicopter.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=UPI News|title=Desperate riots erupt in Argentina|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2001/12/19/Desperate-riots-erupt-in-Argentina/4451008738000/}}</ref>

== References ==

Austerity - Revision history

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