Following the 2007?08 global financial crisis, Western nations, fearful of another Great Depression, engaged a variety of measures that departed quite dramatically from conventional neoliberal wisdom. From money creation and drastic cuts in interest rates, to bailouts, de facto nationalization of banks and even Keynesian-style stimulus spending, these responses from the political and economic elite indicated a deep concern, even panic, about an impending system meltdown. However, these policies of economic stimulation were quickly succeeded by what we now call ?austerity? measures ? characterized by a renewed assault on public spending and further restructuring of social and labour market policies. With the claim that no other viable alternatives exist, neoliberal politicians are selling austerity to the public as a virtuous necessity in the face of government deficits. This socialization of the costs of recovery has resulted in a deepening of class polarization and intensification of racialized and gendered inequalities. With insights and inspirational stories of resistance from scholars in a variety of disciplines, as well as labour organizers and activists, this collection engages with the question: Is there something new in this era of austerity, or should this be understood as a continuation and intensification of earlier forms of neoliberalism? Finally, Jim Standford?s afterword probes to the heart of the question of why austerity in the first place. | Orchestrating Austerity by Donna Baines, Paperback | Indigo Chapters