Instead, the goal of policy should be to regain, as far as possible, many of the structures and relativities of just a short number of years ago. Replicating the past is not fully possible, but we can come close, especially if the global recovery strengthens.
A sense of proportion as to the scale of the adjustments that will be called for – relative to the living standards of just a few years ago – will help restore confidence and build a consensus for the needed measures.