We explain what austerity is and the origin of the term. Also, what are the characteristics of economic austerity.
What is austerity?
Austerity is the condition of absence of luxuries, ornaments and excesses, that is, to satisfaction only of the minimally essential. Thus, that which conforms to these principles, that is, that is severe, sober or harsh, can be called austere, for example: “an austere diet”, “an austere greeting” or “an austerely decorated apartment”.
This term comes from Latin austeruswhich translates “rough” or “difficult,” and which in turn comes from the Greek austerethat is, “rough” or “dry.” Hence the term is associated with the unkind, that is, with what lacks decorations, excesses and settles for the minimum. It is possible, in certain areas, to find the word used with its original meaning of “harsh to taste”, that is, sour or astringent.
The austerity not to be confused with asceticism which is the voluntary renunciation of luxuries and comforts, in favor of moral or spiritual enlightenment. One can live in austere conditions because he is poor, for example, or because he has been deprived by others of all kinds of comforts, without this implying any type of spiritual or moral valuation.
In fact, the term is often used in economic and political jargon, to refer to the administration of goods and capital under a criterion of scarcity, that is, spending as little as possible, as if resources were going to run out at any moment. This is known as economic austerity or financial austerity.
Economic austerity
Economic austerity is a criterion that is applied to economic policies, and that proposes the greatest possible reduction in public spending that is, the money that the State invests in society. This is also known as cutbacks policy. cutback), and it is a particularly common practice among liberal or neoliberal governments.
Usually, these types of policies are implemented when it is feared that a nation will not be able to meet its debt commitments abroad. For this reason, its refinancing capacity decreases with private investors.
Entities such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example, usually come to the rescue of these nations, serving as a lender in exchange for the implementation of economic austerity measures, which minimize the money spent within the country and therefore maximize its ability to pay debts.
Economic austerity, however, usually causes a lot of social unrest and has a strong impact on people's domestic economies, which often translates into impoverishment. Furthermore, these types of measures usually imply large cuts in educational, cultural, social, scientific and health matters, which can bring with it significant amounts of backwardness and suffering in society.
Continue with: Economic crisis
References
- “Austerity” in the Dictionary of the language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Austere” in the Dictionary of the language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Economic austerity” on Wikipedia.
- “What is austerity?” in El Heraldo de México.
- “Etymology of Austerity” in Etymologies of Chile.net.
