`In order to understand the nature of Thatcherism, I feel that it is necessary to examine the relationship between Thatcherism and (previous) Conservative ideology - is there a degree of continuity or is Thatcherism a truly radical innovation?
`It may seem an odd thing to say, but Thatcher never saw herself as being anything but a true Conservative - as Aughey says, Thatcherism can be seen as "a distinctive reading of Conservative Party history." Thus Thatcherism is not so much a "new" ideology as simply the "correct" interpretation of Conservatism.
`Thatcherism as "true Conservatism" (the party of the nation, as envisaged by Disraeli) is not a perspective I would agree with and this is the view of most commentators. Of course Thatcher had a very good reason for adopting this stance and I shall return to it later, but it is enough for the moment to say that the two are different. However there remains an argument for an element of continuity between the two.
`In order to develop this argument it is necessary to define the economic aspect of Thatcherism. Hall and Gamble used the phrase, "social market economy" but what does it actually mean and can we expound upon it?
`In retrospect it appears redundant to make this obversation, but it is important to remember that at its core, Thatcherism was a reaction against the philosophical bedrock of the Labour party, notably Neo-Keynesianism (its economic aspect) and Statism (its social aspect). Up to a point therefore, we can say that Thatcherism and Conservatism are different since the post-war consensus in politics meant that the Conservative Party supported policies that were either derived from Statism or Keynesianism (it is worth remembering that the Conservative Party presented themselves as "the party ... of the community rather than the market ...") but there is an argument for continuity if we accept that the post-war consensus was broken not by Thatcher but by the "Powellism of the 1968-9 period" and the "Heath Programme in 1970".
`Heath's "Selsdon Man Programme" advocated restricting the flow of money into the system, abolishing government subsidies to private businesses and attacking the public sector and the trade unions - does this sound familiar? Dix described the programme as "the first step in a return to the laissez - faire philosophy from which the Tory Party was cradled", whilst going on to assert that "the primeval stirrings of the 1970 Selsdon Man had become the fully mature beast of 1979." In one respect then Thatcherism would appear to be a continuation, although it is argued that Thatcherism went further as it associated Statism with socialism - thus Thatcherism is anti-socialist (hence her admirable desire "not merely to put a temporary brake on socialism but to stop its onward march once and for all") as well as anti-Statist and Keynesianist.
`One could say therefore that Thatcherism is an attempt at a pure anti-socialist/statist ideology. When one thinks of Thatcherism one thinks of monetarism, the need to control public spending and eradicate inflation (regardless of the social consequences, which are usually massive unemployment and social deprivation) - it would be difficult to think of a more anti-socialist/statist theory than this one. This presumably is what Thatcherism sees as true Conservatism - "a return to Nineteenth Century liberalism" in the form of "monetarism as advocated by Milton Friedman."
`Indeed, Gamble has gone as far as to say that Thatcherism sees "market mechanisms" as being "superior to political mechanisms" and that "the desire to take many areas out of politics and return them to a process of market allocation ... has always been one of its central themes" - what does this mean? Is Thatcherism an economic ideology as opposed to a political one?
`This is not a yes/no question - there is a very strong link between economic and social policies and this is certainly true for Thatcherism. Earlier in the essay, I made the observation that whilst Thatcherism was not a party for the people it attempted to appear to be a party for the people - why did it do this?
`The crucial point to recognize is, that like the "Conservative" Party and the Labour Party, Thatcherism is a class ideology - that of the petit bourgeoisie. Aughey is absolutely correct when he calls the vision of Mrs.Thatcher the "vision of the propertied middle-class." It can now be appreciated why monetarism is so enthusiastically endorsed by Thatcherism - Harris has claimed that Thatcherism owes more to "Methodism than Milton Friedman" but I would argue that the two are extremely compatible and both would appeal to the middle-class, supporting as they do the themes of hard work, thrift and self-reliance.
`That Thatcherism is a class-based ideology is not really a surprise, but how does this fit in with the "authoritarian populism" of Hall and Gamble?
`The answer to this highlights the paradoxical nature of Thatcherism - it does not see itself as being "Thatcherism" and it does not see itself as being a middle-class ideology - "the voice of Mrs.Thatcher is held to be the voice of the British people". This is the beauty of Thatcherism - it sees the values of its own class as being the values of all classes and is thus justified in forming and administering policies to further them. Hence middle-class values are lauded as the spirit of national greatness. This is what is meant by populism - "national interests which are supposedly held above class interests drawing on the ideology of a neutral marketplace working in the interests of all." Ironically, the authoritarian nature of this populism is undoubtedly traditional Conservatism - the Tories have always been the party of "Law and Order" (which is understandable since both Thatcherism and Conservativism see private property as a God-given right) - or as Thatcherism puts it, "liberty and order" (a free economy and a strong state).
`What then can we say about Thatcherism in conclusion? There are other aspects of Thatcherism that could be examined, but they are easy to identify once the major tenets are known e.g. as a middle-class ideology you would expect it to have a middle-class/authoritarian stance and indeed it was a Thatcherite who said that if God had intended to give us all equal rights He wouldn't have created man and woman - the view being that the dutiful wife should stay at home and look after the children whilst hubby goes to work, which is certainly not a working-class mentality.
`As an ideology, Thatcherism is a paradoxical mish-mash - as a system of government though, it would appear to be very successful, but then as Gamble says, "Thatcherism has been more about restoring ... the political fortunes of the Conservative Party than it has been about constructing a free economy."
Bibliography
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`D.Beetham, "Civil Liberties, Thatcherism and Charter '88."
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