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Originally Posted by mkpdavies
I would say she was economicaly libertarian, but socially authortarian.
http://planicie-heroica.weblog.com.p...swithnames.gif
Just found this graph, think that have thatch spot on.
I feel closer to your Friedman than any one else. I think the Tories are a bit split between your Thatch and your Friedman in the past, but now are sliding towards Gandi and Stalin. |
I don't think the graph really helps and having Thatcher placed just a couple of steps from Hitler shows this up.
Hitler was hardly some sort of mixed economy advocate. If private businesses can be closed at whim and big business has to follow the diktat of the state (as in Nazi Germany) then private ownership ceases to have any meaning.
Thatcher, meanwhile, was not the authoritarian of popular mythology. She was certainly forceful with regard to the trade unions but that was a liberalising measure in my view as the trade unions were beyond the law. She made a few statements about Victorian values but did not really impose any of this. Breaking up state monopolies and selling council houses were measures that gave more freedom to individuals as consumers, employees, home owners and investors. By authoritarian we would expect arbitrary rule over businesses, closing down of independent media, repressive police powers and the rest. Taking her record as a whole into account Mrs Thatcher was not authoritarian by any means and I hate to say it but I would incline more to This-England's view on this one.