07/02/2012

Is Britain today really a better place as a result of Thatcherism?

I came to study in the UK in 1978. It was not difficult even for a 15 year old to see that the UK economy was in trouble and there was a desperate need for change. The problem with the UK economy was in large part due to high taxes and therefore not much incentive for people to work hard. The change came with the election of the first woman prime minister in 1979.

Mrs Thatcher had a great influence on the people of my generation. She instilled in people the importance of self-reliance, working hard and striving to be the best at their profession. In return she promised that the government would go out of its way to reduce taxes and regulations allowing people to make more money.

Mrs Thatcher’s ideology was simple; by incentivising people to achieve more, not only would these people make themselves better off, but their success would also result in economic growth that would benefit others. The implementation of her ideology resulted in a change of fortune for the UK. It emerged from being the sick man of Europe to becoming one of the most affluent countries in Europe. But unfortunately there was a high cost and we are all paying for it today.

Subsequent prime ministers continued blindly with the Thatcherism ideology. The hunger to achieve more became exaggerated and got out of control. In Britain today, an increasing number of doctors, lawyers and politicians amongst many others, have become so obsessed in making money that they have forgotten that they should not be motivated by money only.

To illustrate, last year I needed urgent eye surgery. My GP referred me to a well-known expensive surgeon in Harley Street. He seemed under pressure trying to deal with too many patients and subsequently spent very little time considering the best option for my surgery. When we realised that the operation was not successful, the said surgeon and his assistants were more interested in knowing that they would be paid in full for my surgery as opposed to having some concern as to what went wrong.

Mrs Thatcher in her 11.5 years premiership made many necessary changes that are greatly benefiting Britain today. However, this is overshadowed by the fact that Thatcherism started a process that resulted in the corruption of social values. In Britain today selfishness and greed is legitimised and the notion that making money at other people expense has become acceptable.

Additionally, many of Mrs Thatcher’s well-intentioned initiatives to promote capitalism such as encouraging widespread share ownership, has resulted in disaster today.The ownership of large corporations has become so fragmented now that shareholders are no longer able to unite and stop managers making decisions that are in their own interest at the expense of exploited shareholders. A good example is the senior management of British Airways who
are making millions for continuing to do a bad job.

In my opinion, the Iron Lady’s resolve to make Britain a better place has only partially succeeded. However, to her credit, she was passionate in delivering all that she promised even when it was difficult or unpopular to do so. Baroness Thatcher not only talked the talk but unlike many politicians today she also walked the walk.

I wish you all every success
Mamad Kashani-Akhavan