Okay, Margaret Thatcher's regime was before my time. I know that she supported deregulation, battled unions, and privatised state-owned compaies.
So she died a year ago today. Here and there, I see conversations about here, and I am struck by the following: people either mindlessly worship her, or curse her grave like she was the spawn of Satan. There is no middle ground. There is no, "This aspect of what she did had some positive and some negative effects", no "I liked this part of what she did, but not that part", but rather "Wow she was the greatest leader of the west in the past 100 years, everything she did should be emulated to the last detail" or "That evil wench destroyed Great Britain for all future! May her name forever be cursed!"
I don't think I've ever seen any other democratically elected political leader create such polarization. Even her contemporary Ronald Reagan, who is both a demigod of conservatism and a nigh-official symbol of the supposed Everything Wrong With The Republican Party has more voices of moderation about him.
I find myself in a position where it is completely impossible to even begin to form a somerwhat informed opinion on Thatcher, because I have yet to see someone reasonably discuss the effects of her politics in a balanced way. My guess, which is as good as it gets at this point is that some of what she did with regard to unions and deregulation was needed and overdue, and that she went too far and was too uncompromising in some areas, but that is literally nothing but my basic hypothesis about all politicians coloured with what I know of the actions she took.
So, would anyone like to offer a reasoned and balanced view on Margaret Thatcher?
So she died a year ago today. Here and there, I see conversations about here, and I am struck by the following: people either mindlessly worship her, or curse her grave like she was the spawn of Satan. There is no middle ground. There is no, "This aspect of what she did had some positive and some negative effects", no "I liked this part of what she did, but not that part", but rather "Wow she was the greatest leader of the west in the past 100 years, everything she did should be emulated to the last detail" or "That evil wench destroyed Great Britain for all future! May her name forever be cursed!"
I don't think I've ever seen any other democratically elected political leader create such polarization. Even her contemporary Ronald Reagan, who is both a demigod of conservatism and a nigh-official symbol of the supposed Everything Wrong With The Republican Party has more voices of moderation about him.
I find myself in a position where it is completely impossible to even begin to form a somerwhat informed opinion on Thatcher, because I have yet to see someone reasonably discuss the effects of her politics in a balanced way. My guess, which is as good as it gets at this point is that some of what she did with regard to unions and deregulation was needed and overdue, and that she went too far and was too uncompromising in some areas, but that is literally nothing but my basic hypothesis about all politicians coloured with what I know of the actions she took.
So, would anyone like to offer a reasoned and balanced view on Margaret Thatcher?
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