Thatcherism fuses free-market economics with organic Tory traditionalism into one ideology.

Evidence

The idea that “freedom of the people equals the free market” has never been wholly banished from the Tory universe; but, despite Powellism, and Mr. Heath in the “Selsdon Man” phase, it has failed to achieve full ascendancy within the party in the postwar period, until recently. But now, in the wake of an era dominated by the social-democratic consensus, and a Conservatism tainted with distinct corporatist tendencies, “Freedom/free market” is once again in the foreground of the conservative ideological repertoire. “Free market—strong state”: around this contradictory point, where neoliberal political economy fused with organic Toryism, the authentic language of “Thatcherism” has condensed. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1112

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• DEFINE: Defines Thatcherism’s distinctive character as an ideological fusion of two normally opposing strands — an apparently contradictory pairing that is the key to its appeal.

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