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Mark Blyth Austerity

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During my studies I decided to read the novel “Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea”, by Mark Blyth. The reason I picked this book for my review over the rest of the books is because the concept of austerity really interested me. In simple terms austerity is the reducing of expenditure in order to help an economic crisis. Blyth defines it at the start of the novel as “ a form of voluntary deflation in which the economy adjusts through the reduction of wages, prices and public spending to restore competitiveness which is (supposedly) best achieved by cutting the state’s budget, debts and deficits”(pg2). Throughout the book Blyth discusses in three ways how the practice of austerity is negative. The first problem with austerity is …show more content…

The main reason Mark Blyth wrote this book was because he was angry at the fact that the working class are paying for the mistakes of the upper class. This frustrated him so much because before his success as an author, Blyth was once part of the working, taxpayer society. This is quite a personal remark as Blyth himself grew up in the lower class. He was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1967. He was the son of a television rental agent and a butcher. His mother died at a young age at which he was taken into care by his grandmother. His household relied on government income, that mostly being a state retirement pension and a handout from his father on rare occasions. It was indeed government welfare that allowed him to get where he is today. He is now a successful professor at an Ivy League University in the United States of America. Ivy League Universities are best known for their academic excellence, selective admissions meaning only the top of the class students get a spot, and social elitism amongst students, so due to this impressive status, Mark Blyth is seen to be a very intelligent and hard-working man. After reading about the author’s life it made me think about my own life, my own economy around me. Since public welfare allowed many people to achieve their dreams, what were to happen if austerity was the only solution, would many unknown talents would go undiscovered? 100 more words on

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