Thatcherism, R.I.P. Britain's Economy Needs New Ideas

Margaret Thatcher was chauffeured away from No. 10 more than 20 years ago, yet her death has provoked greater political ferment than many elections. Within hours of Thatcher’s passing, children left flowers outside her home in the London enclave of Belgravia; half an hour away in the somewhat earthier environs of Brixton, hundreds of people turned out to hold a street party. As I type this, an earnest campaign is afoot to get the Wizard of Oz tune Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead to No. 1. At the other extreme, Conservative MPs and commentators are so puffed up on Thatcher’s greatness that dissenters are liable to face accusations of sedition.

What accounts for this dissonance? It’s partly that two disputes have been set running at the same time. The first concerns Thatcher’s achievements in office and is the stuff of historical dates and statistics. The second has to do with Thatcherism: her commitment to rolling back the state, which has created the political parameters for all her successors, including the Labour Party’s Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. This is the fight the British are evidently spoiling for—an argument about who we are and how we got that way.