Thatcherism

Thatcherism is the name for the social and economic policy of Margaret Thatcher , the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. It was originally a term used by the Marxist left, which was coined before Thatcher took office. Thatcher's followers later adopted the term and gave it a positive connotation. Thatcherism was not a closed theory, but a practice that cannot be fully described with either the attribute conservative or the attribute liberal .

Origin of the term

The term Thatcherism coined the Marxist sociologist Stuart Hall .

features

According to the sociologist Anthony Giddens , who is considered a Social Democrat and thought leader of the Labor Party , Thatcherism can be characterized by the following aspects:

slim state
autonomous civil society
" Market Fundamentalism "
authoritarian morality combined with economic individualism
the labor market regulates itself like any other market
Acceptance of social inequality
traditional nationalism and / or patriotism

Welfare state as a pure safety net
linear modernization
poorly developed ecological awareness
neo-realistic thinking in international politics
Integration into the East-West contrast

Parallels

In the US, the term Reaganomics - named after US President Ronald Reagan - was used, who followed a similar policy.

Thatcher and Reagan had a personal friendship. In 2004, Thatcher gave the funeral oration at Reagan's funeral; the former US president had asked her to do so while she was still alive.

literature

Alexander Gallas : The Thatcherite Offensive. A Neo-Poulantzasian Analysis . Brill, Leiden 2015 (Chicago paperback 2017).
Keith Dixon: The Evangelists of the Market - The British Intellectuals and Thatcherism . UVK, Constance 2000.
Dominik Geppert : Thatcher's Conservative Revolution: The Change in Direction of the British Tories 1975–1979 . Volume 53 of publications by the German Historical Institute in London. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2002, ISBN 3-486-56661-X .
Geoffrey Alderman : Britain: A One-Party State? London: helmet 1989.
Richard Vinen : The politics and social upheaval of the Thatcher era . London: Simon & Schuster 2009.
Frank Bösch : Crisis Children: Thatcher, the Greens and the Change in Politics in the 1970 / 80s . In: Heuss-Forum 1/2016.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Dominik Geppert: Thatcher's Conservative Revolution - The Change of Direction of the British Tories (1975-1979) . Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, p. 10 f.
↑ Dominik Geppert: Thatcher's Conservative Revolution - The Change of Direction of the British Tories (1975-1979) . Oldenbourg, 2002, Munich p. 424.
↑ Anthony Giddens - the mouthpiece of the center . WAZ, June 10, 2009
↑ Anthony Giddens: The Third Way. The renewal of social democracy . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M. 1999, p. 18.
↑ Thirty Years of Thatcherism: How Maggie came to power . Spiegel Online , photo gallery.

[1] Dominik Geppert: Thatcher's Conservative Revolution - The Change of Direction of the British Tories (1975-1979) . Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, p. 10 f.

[2] Dominik Geppert: Thatcher's Conservative Revolution - The Change of Direction of the British Tories (1975-1979) . Oldenbourg, 2002, Munich p. 424.

[3] Anthony Giddens - the mouthpiece of the center . WAZ, June 10, 2009

[4] Anthony Giddens: The Third Way. The renewal of social democracy . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M. 1999, p. 18.

[5] Thirty Years of Thatcherism: How Maggie came to power . Spiegel Online , photo gallery.