The theory’s publication at a time of worldwide alarm about double-digit inflation offered central bankers exactly the pretext they needed for desperately unpopular actions. By dramatically increasing interest rates to fight inflation, policymakers broke the power of organized labor, while avoiding blame for the mass unemployment that monetary austerity was bound to produce.
当时全球正面对两位数的通胀忧心不已，而该理论的出世恰恰为央行行长采用那些极为不受欢迎的行动提供了借口。通过大幅提高利率以对抗通胀，政策制定者击破了工会组织的力量，同时避免了因货币紧缩必然导致的大规模失业而受指责。