We explain what austerity is and the origin of the term. Also, what are the characteristics of economic austerity.
Austerity means satisfying yourself with the bare minimum.What is austerity?
Austerity is the condition of the absence of luxuries, adornments and excesses, that is, to the satisfaction only of the minimally indispensable. Thus, what conforms to these principles, that is, that is severe, sober or harsh, can be called austere or austere, for example: "an austere diet", "an austere greeting" or "an austerely decorated apartment".
This term comes from the Latin austerus, which translates "rough" or "difficult", and which in turn comes from the Greek austere, that is, "rough" or "dry". Hence, the term is associated with the unkind, that is, with what lacks adornment, excesses and conforms to the minimum. It is possible, in certain areas, to find the word used with its original sense of "rough to taste", that is, sour or astringent.
Austerity should not be confused with asceticism, which is the voluntary renunciation of luxuries and comforts, in favor of enlightenment moral or spiritual. 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 implying any kind of spiritual or moral evaluation.
In fact, the term is often used in economic and political jargon, to refer to the administration of assets and capitals 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 applied to Economic politics, and that proposes the greatest possible reduction of the spending public, that is, of the money that the Condition invest in the society. This is also known as the cuts policy. cutback), and it is a particularly common practice among governments of orientation liberal or neoliberal.
Usually, these types of policies are implemented when it is feared that a nation cannot meet its debt commitments abroad. Therefore, its refinancing capacity decreases with private investors.
Entities like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example, usually comes 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, tends to cause a lot of social unrest and has a strong impact on the economy people's domestic life, which often results in impoverishment. In addition, 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.