A Guiding Light: The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor
Kevin M. Saylor
A Guiding Light:
The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher
The good society is marked by a high degree of of order to which any genuinely conserva-
order, justice, and freedom. Among these, tive political philosophy must be commit-
order has primacy: for justice cannot be en-
ted. The first is metaphysical, the second
forced until a tolerable civil social order is
attained, nor can freedom be anything better existential. Metaphysical order refers to
than violence until order gives us laws. the transcendent arrangement of the cos-
Russell Kirk1 mos which determines the very structures
of existence. It includes what is known as
“natural law.” Existential order refers to
Russell Kirk’s description of the good the particular arrangement of a specific,
society makes a fitting epigraph for a dis- historical society. It is regulated according
cussion of the essential principles of Mar- to civil laws, and, frequently, a constitu-
garet Thatcher’s thought since the two tion. Thatcher’s Christianity commits her
fundamentally agree concerning what con- to a particular vision of metaphysical or-
stitutes a good society. Indeed, Thatcher der. And her staunch reliance on first prin-
invokes a similar triad when she speaks of ciples rather than expediency reveals her
“the rule of. . .law and the liberty and dedication to upholding this order.
justice, in which [she] believe[s] passion- But as a politician, Thatcher designed
ately.”2 And this concurrence should not policies to shape and maintain the civil-
surprise us since both claim Edmund Burke social order. Maintaining this order, she
as their “ideological mentor” and both knows, is the prime concern of govern-
base their “whole political philosophy” on ment. She writes, “the role of government
“what are often referred to as ‘Judaeo- in a free society should be. . .to establish a
Christian values’” (DSY, 753 and 509). In framework of stability—whether consti-
order to outline the political philosophy tutional stability, the rule of law, or the
which has come to be known as economic stability provided by sound
Thatcherism, I will take up each of these money—within which individual families
three principles—order, justice, and free- and businesses were free to pursue their
dom—in turn, keeping in mind, however, own dreams and ambitions” (DSY, 14).
that they are not in practice discrete enti-
ties, but parts of an interrelated and mutu- Kevin M. Saylor is a graduate student at Indiana
University where he studies English literature. This
ally reinforcing whole. essay was awarded first place in the Intercollegiate
There are two distinct but related types Studies Institute’s 1997 Lady Thatcher Essay Contest.
32 THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor
Thus order (or “stability,” to use Thatcher’s her first decisions as prime minister “to see
term) means more than just keeping the that both the police and armed forces were
peace; it also means providing continuity. properly paid” (DSY, 32). Her firm resis-
In order to plan for the future—or even to tance to IRA terrorism and to the miners’
enjoy freedom in the present—people must strike of 1984-85 illustrate her unbending
know that the government will not make resolve to stand up to threat and intimida-
arbitrary decisions which radically alter tion and maintain law and order. As she
the rules for participating in civil and social says in regard to the miners’ strike, “I was
affairs. The rule of law, that is, “the prin- determined that the message should go out
ciple that no authority is above the law of from government loud and clear: there
the land,” Thatcher insists, distinguishes would be no surrender to the mob” (DSY,
free from unfree regimes.3 Stability, how- 346). Her policy toward foreign threats to
ever, must be balanced by justice. Stability the rule of law followed similar lines, begin-
“should not be used as an excuse for up- ning with her insistence on a strong na-
holding a status quo that is itself inherently tional defense. Whether in regard to Ira-
unstable because it suppresses social forces nian terrorism, the Falkland Islands, or the
that cannot ultimately be contained” (PTP, Gulf War, her attitude remained the same:
512). Thus, government, while limited, terrorism and aggression must never be
must have sufficient power to promote allowed to succeed, a lesson she had learned
changes that will increase the freedom and from living through the second world war
justice afforded to people. (PTP, 31). If we allow aggressors to have
Since the rule of law is not inviolable, it their way, she knows, “the law of the jungle
must be protected not only from the gov- [will] take over from the rule of law” (DSY,
ernment itself, but also from foreign and 819).
domestic threats. Protecting the rule of law
from government requires limiting the Thatcher never offers a philosophical defi-
powers of government. This means prima- nition of her conception of justice, nor does
rily that government must resist the temp- she really need to. Essentially, justice for
tation of large-scale economic and social Margaret Thatcher means adhering to one’s
planning. Governments that use arbitrary principles, namely, the principles inform-
power in regard to incomes policy and tax ing a Christian understanding of the world.
policy undermine the rule of law (PTP, They are the principles she gained from her
140). Government should attempt to con- solid Methodist upbringing, and they in-
trol only “those things which government clude what are often called “Victorian vir-
[can] control—namely the money supply tues” (DSY, 627). They are, moreover, the
and public borrowing” (DSY, 97). For not principles held by most decent, law-abid-
only do free markets surpass central plan- ing citizens in the Western world. When she
ning in creating financial wealth and stabil- says regarding the welfare state that “to
ity, but “once the state plays fast and loose treat those who make an effort in the same
with economic freedom, political freedom way as those who do not is unjust,” her
risks being the next casualty” (DSY, 425). understanding of justice seems very close to
Protecting the rule of law domestically the Platonic understanding: to each his due
entails resisting mob rule and ensuring that (PTP, 546).
criminals are caught and punished. There can be no doubt, in any case, about
Thatcher indicated her commitment to the importance she places in upholding
ensuring domestic order by making one of justice. We have already seen that justice
THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998 33The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor
takes precedence over simply maintaining nations be free to arrange their affairs as
the order of the status quo. Likewise, justice they see fit, not to have their affairs imposed
must sometimes even take precedence over upon them either by the arbitrary decrees
peace, for “peace is not enough without of their own government or the threats and
freedom and justice and sometimes. . .it [is] intimidations of aggressor nations. Of
necessary to sacrifice peace if freedom and course, once a person or a nation steps
justice [are] to prevail” (DSY, 236). Thus outside of the recognized limits of the law,
standing up to aggressor nations—whether they lose their right to self-determination
it be against Argentina or the mighty Soviet precisely because that right carries respon-
empire—is not only a matter of prudently sibilities and duties. If we would not have
maintaining international order, it is also, others restrain us, we must first restrain
perhaps more significantly, a matter of ful- ourselves. Thus it is incumbent upon both
filling one’s moral duty to support just government and individuals to foster an
causes and defend the victims of injustice environment where ordered liberty rather
and one’s own honor. Of course, holding to than license will thrive, because “freedom
one’s principles is never an easy task, par- will destroy itself if it is not exercised within
ticularly when it means refusing to com- some sort of moral framework, some body
promise—even with the best-intentioned of shared beliefs, some spiritual heritage
opponents—when compromise is unac- transmitted through the Church, the fam-
ceptable. In a magnificent passage, ily and the school” (PTP, 555).
Thatcher writes: Internationally, the right to self-deter-
To me consensus seems to be: the process of
mination means the right of a people to
abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and decide for themselves what sort of govern-
policies in search of something in which no one ment they will live under. Thatcher men-
believes, but to which no one objects; the tions this principle in regard to Northern
process of avoiding the very issues that have to Ireland, Scotland, the liberated Eastern bloc
be solved, merely because you cannot get agree-
countries, Hong Kong, South Africa, and
ment on the way ahead. What great cause would
have been fought and won under the banner ‘I the Falkland Islands. In fact, mention of the
stand for consensus’? (DSY, 167) right to self-determination punctuates
Thatcher’s discussion of the Falklands like
Of her many accomplishments, perhaps a refrain.4 Thatcher maintains, moreover,
her finest is that when it came to upholding that it is the “moral duty,” of free and
justice and defending her principles, the prosperous nations, “to do [their] best to
Iron Lady never quavered. Fortunately for protect the free way of life of the people” of
her, and more fortunately for the rest of us, other nations (DSY, 262). Free states must
Thatcher discovered that in her experience, also sustain a strong national defense—
often “what is morally right eventually turns including, in our age, a nuclear deterrent—
out to be politically expedient” (DSY, 507). both to protect their own freedom and to
allow their people to enjoy that freedom in
The basic tenet of Margaret Thatcher’s the peace afforded by security.
understanding of freedom is the right of Protecting the freedom of self-determi-
individuals and nations to self-determina- nation within one’s own nation has both
tion within the constraint of law and with political and economic dimensions. Politi-
the recognition that “every power implies cally, protection requires that government
responsibility, every liberty a duty” (PTP, be limited and restricted by the rule of law.
424). Justice requires that individuals and Thus Thatcherite policies promote “the
34 THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor
extension of choice, the dispersal of power better become a socialist and have done
and the encouragement of responsibility” with it” (PTP, 275). Private property and
(DSY, 618). Consequently, social policies, the ability to accumulate wealth are the
including welfare, must encourage indi- necessary means of independence without
vidual liberty and responsibility rather than which liberty will always be insecure— if it
dependency. For, if “individuals [are] dis- exists at all.
couraged and communities disorientated
by the state stepping in to take decisions F inally, any outline of the essential prin-
which should properly be made by people, ciples of Thatcherism must at least make
families and neighbourhoods then society’s note of the role of culture in Thatcher’s
problems [will] grow not diminish” (DSY,
626). When people become dependent on
the state for their individual well-being,
Thatcher insists, then “political freedom—
for example the freedom to join or not to
join a union or the freedom to have contro-
versial views and still be entitled to teach in
a state school or work in a government
department” are threatened (PTP, 440).
Economically, the freedom of self-deter-
mination requires free markets, a sound
monetary policy, and most importantly,
the right to own private property. Open
markets provide the necessary choice, for
both producers and consumers, without
which freedom is hollow. Planned econo-
mies and state monopolies are by their very
nature authoritarian and hence not free.
Government instead should establish a
sound monetary policy that will ensure the
stability necessary for long-term planning,
growth, and investment. If, for example,
the money supply fluctuates wildly and Participants in ISI’s 1997 Margaret
rapidly, people and businesses will lack the Thatcher Essay Contest were asked to base
confidence to make the decisions that ulti- their essay on Lady Thatcher’s important
mately are necessary for economic growth. two-volume memoir.
Finally, the right to own private property
is the single most important aspect of eco- philosophy. While Thatcherism is certainly
nomic, perhaps even of political, freedom. concerned with “free markets, limited gov-
Thus, “privatization is at the centre of any ernment and a strong national defense,” it
programme of reclaiming territory for free- is also much more than this (DSY, 15). For
dom” (DSY, 676). Or, as Thatcher said Thatcher insists “that at the heart of the
when campaigning for the conservative lead- Conservative mission is something more
ership, “if a Tory does not believe that than economics—however important eco-
private property is one of the main bul- nomics might be: there is a commitment to
warks of individual freedom, then he had strengthen, or at least not undermine, the
THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998 35The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor traditional virtues which enable people to of the Western world. And Margaret live fulfilling lives without being a threat or Thatcher knows that “such large and im- a burden to others” (DSY, 278-79, empha- posing structures require good foundations: sis added). Thatcherism, thus, wages not and these are always ultimately moral and just a battle of political and economic ideas, social, not material” (PTP, 564). but even more a battle of virtues and values. Of course, Thatcher knows that culture and Lady Thatcher’s legacy is her pedigree. economics are interrelated. She agrees with For Thatcherism participates in the mod- Michael Novak that “democratic capital- ern conservative tradition of which ism” is “a moral and social, not just an Edmund Burke stands at the head. This is economic system” (DSY, 627). Conse- easily seen from the way Thatcher peppers quently, culture and economics can be ei- her memoirs with references to eighteenth- ther mutually reinforcing or mutually de- century figures like Burke and Adam Smith structive. Thus, Thatcher can claim that as well as modern economists such as F. A. “the economy had gone wrong because Hayek and Milton Friedman; to historians something else had gone wrong spiritually from Macaulay to Tocqueville to Dicey to and philosophically” (PTP, 305). Hence, Paul Johnson; to contemporary scholars controlling inflation, balancing the bud- such as Michael Novak, James Q. Wilson, get, and creating new jobs by themselves are Charles Murray, and Gertrude Himmel- not enough to significantly alleviate pov- farb; and to literary figures like Kipling, erty. First, the culture of dependency must C.S. Lewis, Dostoevsky, Solzhenitzyn, and be broken, and the virtues of work, respon- Pascal. Thatcher’s main contribution to sibility, and self-reliance must be instilled this powerful legacy was to learn how “to in the people. Conversely, however, put a complex and sophisticated case in Thatcher believes that capitalism can be direct, clear and simple language” (DSY, 4- “the greatest force for reform and political 5). That is, she made a powerful intellectual liberalization” (DSY, 514). philosophy intelligible to and available to Although in her first term as prime min- an electorate. She did so in part by insisting ister, Thatcher began by addressing that “if a small state, low taxes, less inter- Britain’s economic problems, this was vention and more choice were right then we largely a prudential decision. It is difficult should argue for them and do so without to talk to people about culture and virtue apology” (DSY, 620). Her directness and when they are struggling to make ends meet. clarity are among her greatest assets. Moreover, improving the economy is a far But clarifying the conservative vision easier task than instilling traditional vir- and fitting it to a prudent and practical tues in a demoralized society. For this rea- political philosophy for the late twentieth son, only after the conservatives “had solved century and beyond was, of course, a very the problem of the British economy” were difficult task in the face of entrenched liber- they able to turn their attention to “those alism. She was the first British politician to deeper and more intractable problems” (DSY, want not merely to stop, but reverse the 147, emphasis added). Thus, ultimately, general leftward drift of her country, and of Thatcherism is not about particular politi- the West more generally. Thus Thatcher cal and economic policies; it is about a will be remembered for having the courage culture, a way of life. Thatcherism is a prod- to stand up for what she believed in, for uct and an extension of the great liberating making politics a matter of principle rather tradition of political and legal institutions than expediency, and for insisting that poli- 36 THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998
The Conservatism of Margaret Thatcher by Kevin M. Saylor
tics is a battle of ideas, not merely a struggle history propels their ideas.
for influence and power. She knew that The question, then, is how are conserva-
change would be difficult and would re- tives to increase their prospects for success
quire a certain amount of sacrifice and as the new millennium approaches. The
discord, but that sometimes you “had to do answer: follow the path laid out by leaders
genuinely difficult things which were right” such as Margaret Thatcher. Politics must
(DSY, 564). During the Falkland crisis, she continue to be played out on the level of
demonstrated that she was even willing to ideas. Conservatives must stand up for their
go to war to defend what she believed in, convictions; they must defend their prin-
since although “war was a terrible evil,... ciples unabashedly rather than bow to seem-
there were worse things, including the ex- ing expediency or be cowed by organized
tinction of all that one believed in” (DSY, interest groups. Thatcher herself has put
230). She truly believed in the power of her finger on the problem, “conservatives
ideas. After all, “there are forces more pow- . . . [have] temporarily lost confidence in
erful and pervasive than the apparatus of themselves and their message” (PTP, 469).
war. You may chain a man—but you can- In the face of recent setbacks, conserva-
not chain his mind. You may enslave him— tives must regain “that most important
but you will not conquer his spirit” (DSY, element of political success. . .a sense of
263). Thatcher’s attitude as she struggled purpose” (PTP, 468). To do so, conserva-
for and eventually lost the conservative tives must return to and be true to their
leadership, makes a fine illustration of the intellectual tradition—the tradition
example this remarkable lady has set for which has fostered the greatest amount of
future generations of conservatives: “I ordered liberty and justice the world has
would fight—and, if necessary, go down ever known. In the end, it is no doubt true
fighting—for my beliefs as long as I could” that “Man proposes and God disposes”
(DSY, 832). (DSY, 15). The best thing for conserva-
tives to do—the correct thing to do—is to
Political prognostication is at best a tricky argue for and defend to the best of their
business, as “Thatcher’s law” (i.e., “in poli- ability what they know to be right. The
tics the unexpected happens”) reminds us outcome ultimately lies in the hands, not
(DSY, 237). Recent events, including a of mankind, less still of a historical dialec-
Labour victory in Great Britain after eigh- tic, but of Divine Providence.
teen years of Conservative rule and the Notes
reelection of Bill Clinton in the United
1. Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order, 3rd ed.
States, confirm Thatcher’s dictum, and (Washington: Regnery Gateway, 1991), 6.
make the prospects for Thatcherism and
2. Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years:
conservatism more generally appear dim- 1979-1990. (New York: HarperPerennial, 1993), 218.
mer. Still, perhaps it is to the benefit of the Future references to this volume will be cited in the text
conservative cause that, after over a decade as DSY.
of increasing victories in both the ideologi- 3. Margaret Thatcher, The Path to Power. (New York:
cal and political realms, right-minded HarperCollins, 1995), 84. Future references to this
people be reminded that “all human volume will be cited in the text as PTP.
achievement is built on sand” (PTP, 604). 4. Thatcher mentions the principle of self-determina-
Nothing breeds stagnation like self-satis- tion or an equivalent phrase on pp. 175, 183, 193, 195,
196, 199, 204, 206, 207, 210, 217, and 218 of her
faction. Conservatives, of all people, should discussion of the Falkland War in The Downing Street
never believe that the ineluctable sweep of Years.
THE INTERCOLLEGIATE REVIEW—Spring 1998 37You can also read
