There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters

There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters Review

The title somewhat confused me when the book initially came out in 2008. I failed to sense the impending worldwide crisis now threatening the economies of the Western World. It is now two years later---and Claire Berlinski has turned me into a total convert. Margaret Thatcher clearly understood the benefits of the free market. She realized that any compromise with members of the Labor Party or the squishy moderates within her own party hurts the British citizenry. The woman was not for bending. Thatcher committed herself to achieving her goals regardless of the costs. She would push aside and irritate in countless other ways anyone who got in her way. Thatcher was not known for always being gentle. Winston Churchill was a wartime prime minister. He never got to serve during peacetime. Thatcher is therefore the role model for today's challenges.

The author interviewed individuals who were not hesitant in revealing Thatcher as a strong willed lady that may have even occasionally rubbed them the wrong way. France's Francois Mitterrand even described her as "Brigitte Bardot with Caligula's eyes." She was also born and raised in modest middle class surroundings---and the elites never forgave her. One is also readily reminded of the friction between the American Sarah Palin and her big government Republican detractors. Mrs. Thatcher worked closely together with President Ronald Reagan to defeat the Soviet Union. This same sort of focus and vision is currently needed to combat Islamic extremism. Claire Berlinski has successfully made her case. The title of the book says it all. Margaret Thatcher still matters and there is no alternative. Great Britain is experiencing an existential crisis that may destroy its democratic institutions. Can it find another Thatcher before it is too late?

There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters Overview

This is a smart, opinionated appreciation of the woman who rescued Great Britain from Socialism and proved that American-style conservatism could work around the world. Great Britain in the 1970s appeared to be in terminal decline - ungovernable and rapidly headed for global economic irrelevance. Three decades later, it is one of the richest and most influential countries in Europe and, argues Claire Berlinski, Margaret Thatcher should be given all the credit. As Britain's Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher championed- and won-a full range of conservative initiatives: she privatised state-owned industries, curbed the power of labour unions, reduced the welfare state and reversed a culture of dependency. As journalist and conservative pundit Claire Berlinski shows, Thatcher's transformation of Britain was no simple task. Her jarring economic reforms often came at a high human cost as inefficient subsidies, welfare programmes, and industries were abandoned entirely. While Thatcher's legacy is mixed, Berlinski argues that we should ultimately be on her side. The struggles of Great Britain in the 1980s remain vitally relevant as Britain, Europe, America and the world cope with increasing calls for welfare spending. Socialism is on the rise and only those countries willing to do what Thatcher did will prevail. "There Is No Alternative" provides a valuable account of Margaret Thatcher's visionary triumphs in the fight between free enterprise and its enemies.

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