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Workshop

Capitalism, permanent austerity?

Add to calendar 2026-04-29 15:00 2026-04-29 17:00 Europe/Rome Capitalism, permanent austerity? Sala del Torrino Villa Salviati - Castle YYYY-MM-DD
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Scheduled dates

Apr 29 2026

15:00 - 17:00 CEST

Sala del Torrino, Villa Salviati - Castle

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The event, organised by the Economic History and Ideas working group, features a talk by Clara Mattei (University of Tulsa, Oklahoma)

The three decades that followed World War II constituted what is still referred to as the 'golden age of capitalism', a period of continuous economic growth that produced rising wages for workers and established the US as a global hegemonic power.

In this workshop, Prof. Clara Mattei will be challenging this narrative through a discussion on her ongoing book, titled The Golden Hour. Booming Markets, False Narratives, and the Decades that Made Modern Society (University of Chicago Press, TBD). Building from the foundation developed in her previous work, The Capital Order (University of Chicago, 2022), Mattei once again confronts the narrative of mainstream economics to dive into the American, British and Italian experiences with Keynesianism. Focusing on the disconnects between their economic theory and the realities of policy-making, she highlights how austerity was a pillar of capitalism in its brightest hour, despite often being thought of as a child of neoliberalism.

Clara Mattei is currently Professor of Economics and Director of the Forum for Real Economic Emancipation at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She obtained her PhD at the Sant’Anna School for Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy, and previously held a position as an Associate Professor in the Economics Department at The New School for Social Research in New York City, as well as being a member of the School for Social Sciences at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton University. Her research centres on the history of monetary policy and economic thought, from World War I to the present. She has published extensively in both English and Italian, and her 2022 book, The Capital Order, received multiple awards, including the 2023 Herbert Baxter Adams Prize from the American Historical Association.

Please register to secure a seat or receive the Zoom link. Please contact the organisers to receive the readings.

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