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영어

One way or another extraordinary things happened in British politics and government in the period called the Thatcher years from May 1979 to November 1990. What happened in the period has been variously described as a 'revolution' , 'the battle for Britain" and a "Miracle'. The miracle ventured was to halt and reverse Britain's seemingly irreversible decline in the spheres of economics, politics, society and general culture. During twelve continuous years of Conservative government there was established the widespread belief that Margaret Thatcher's brand of 'New Right' conservatism succeeded in substantially solving the problems and establishing a new consensus based on New Right ideas. The economic, political and cultural changes made after 1979 are rooted in a distinctive and dominant philosophy, 'Thatcherism', from which success has supposedly been derived. Policies developed on this basis and implemented by government since 1979 were said to have been so effective in solving Britain's problems that by 1989 there was nothing left but to export the philosophy. After 1989 the certainty became qualified. The first main argument advanced in this paper is that, in Britain, New Right ideas, actually, came into prominence by default out of a catalogue of errors, and their persuasiveness has been grossly exaggerated on the Left as well as on the Right. The second is that, even by its own standards and criteria, the record of Conservative governments under Margaret Thatcher has been one of comprehensive failure, with a few mitigating achievements. The result of the failure was far-reaching change in British life that created a society different from any she envision or desired. It was a change that could only be brought about by highly centalized government. As she thrust market forces into every corner of British life with the aim of 'rolling back the frontiers of the state', the state grew ever stronger. The unavoidable result of Thatcher's attempting to reinvent the free market was a highly invasive state.