"However, it really needs to be repeated: austerity is only braindead if you insist on ever-increasing aggregate demand. If you are willing to accept stagnant o

"However, it really needs to be repeated: austerity is only braindead if you insist on ever-increasing aggregate demand. If you are willing to accept stagnant or even decreasing aggregate demand (for whatever reason) then austerity is perfectly reasonable and perhaps a good choice." I think the problem is that austerity advocates argue that that aggregate demand will increase in the face of austerity, when we know that doesn't happen. Austerity advocates then often bring up the theory that if debt is lower, then external actors will have more confidence in the country and interest rates will decline. So while I agree with you that no one needs to be condescending, it is challenging to deal with the pro-austerity folks when they seem to be fact-challenged.