Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea. Mark Blyth: Austerity - The History of a Dangerous Idea. The politics and economics of Austerity. Austerity Reigns Over Euro Zone as Crisis Deepens. Austerity, democracy, and economics. How Austerity Is Killing Europe by Jeff Madrick. On the last day of 2011, a headline in The Wall Street Journal read: “Spain Misses Deficit Target, Sets Cuts.”
The cruel forces of poor economic logic were at work to welcome in the new year. The European Union has become a vicious circle of burgeoning debt leading to radical austerity measures, which in turn further weaken economic conditions and result in calls for still more damaging cuts in government spending and higher taxes.