Thatcher’s anti-socialism capitalized on Labourism’s genuine statist weakness

Evidence

The radical Right has capitalized on this fatal hesitancy, this deep weakness in Labour socialism. Mrs. Thatcher is therefore guilty of exaggeration—but of no more than that—when she identifies state bureaucracy and creeping collectivism with “socialism,” and “socialism” with the specter of “actual existing socialism” under the East European regimes: and then counterposes to this fatal syllogism the sweet sound of “Freedom” which, of course, she and her New Model Conservative Party represent. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1118

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Hall’s ‘authoritarian populism’ thesis and the ‘New Model Conservative Party’ framing echoed in his Thatcher analyses. — connects to: Anti-statism now undermines defence of public institutions like the NHS — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2236