Colin Hay and Stephen Farrall
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to ...
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This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to the period 1979–90, then certainly to events now largely concluded. This allows us a degree of historical perspective that was previously unavailable. Current assessments by political scientists of the rise of ‘New Labour’ and of the development of the British state in the post-war period have had to grapple with this period (and, indeed, 1997). But there are other reasons for returning to Thatcherism and perhaps even for preferring the term ‘Thatcherism’ to the more recent ‘neo-liberalism’. ‘Thatcherism’—however hard it remains to offer a strict definition—embraced more than just neo-liberal ideas. Thatcherism combined both neo-liberal and neo-conservative strands and was often at its more radical and consequential when it identified policy targets which combined elements of both.Less
This chapter reflects on the debates surrounding Thatcherism with the benefit of hindsight. Most commentators seem to accept that Thatcherism is now a historic concept—referring, if not exactly to the period 1979–90, then certainly to events now largely concluded. This allows us a degree of historical perspective that was previously unavailable. Current assessments by political scientists of the rise of ‘New Labour’ and of the development of the British state in the post-war period have had to grapple with this period (and, indeed, 1997). But there are other reasons for returning to Thatcherism and perhaps even for preferring the term ‘Thatcherism’ to the more recent ‘neo-liberalism’. ‘Thatcherism’—however hard it remains to offer a strict definition—embraced more than just neo-liberal ideas. Thatcherism combined both neo-liberal and neo-conservative strands and was often at its more radical and consequential when it identified policy targets which combined elements of both.
Stephen Farrall and Colin Hay (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265703
- eISBN:
- 9780191771880
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265703.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, ...
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Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what ‘Thatcherism’ was, with some arguing that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. Indeed, when it came to the welfare state little had changed after 13 years of Thatcherism. Some historians have additionally suggested that other social forces that had existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganization of much of the UK’s social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country’s development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed? Ought Thatcher’s period in office be seen as a ‘critical juncture’ for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography, and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK’s New Right governments (1979–90).Less
Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what ‘Thatcherism’ was, with some arguing that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. Indeed, when it came to the welfare state little had changed after 13 years of Thatcherism. Some historians have additionally suggested that other social forces that had existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganization of much of the UK’s social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country’s development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed? Ought Thatcher’s period in office be seen as a ‘critical juncture’ for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography, and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK’s New Right governments (1979–90).
Steve Bruce
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199654123
- eISBN:
- 9780191806605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199654123.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter examines two bodies of work that both challenge the secularisation paradigm of the decline in religion in the modern world with its focus on indices of formal involvement in ...
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This chapter examines two bodies of work that both challenge the secularisation paradigm of the decline in religion in the modern world with its focus on indices of formal involvement in institutional religion such as church attendance: Grace Davie's Religion in Britain since 1945 and David Clark's Between Pulpit and Pew. More specifically, the chapter considers the argument put forward by Davie and Clark that the secularisation paradigm's emphasis on institutional religion overlooks the substantial mass of popular religiosity and thus undermines the contrast between pre-modern and modern societies. It first analyses Davie's contention that the churches declined because of their increasing unwillingness to form public associations and not because people lost faith. It then discusses Clark's book, which looks into the religious life of Staithes, a small fishing village in North Yorkshire, England.Less
This chapter examines two bodies of work that both challenge the secularisation paradigm of the decline in religion in the modern world with its focus on indices of formal involvement in institutional religion such as church attendance: Grace Davie's Religion in Britain since 1945 and David Clark's Between Pulpit and Pew. More specifically, the chapter considers the argument put forward by Davie and Clark that the secularisation paradigm's emphasis on institutional religion overlooks the substantial mass of popular religiosity and thus undermines the contrast between pre-modern and modern societies. It first analyses Davie's contention that the churches declined because of their increasing unwillingness to form public associations and not because people lost faith. It then discusses Clark's book, which looks into the religious life of Staithes, a small fishing village in North Yorkshire, England.
