Challenges Facing the 21st Century - Margaret Thatcher

Capitalist Chicks DOT COM ^ | FR Post 9-5-02 | Margaret Thatcher

[vannrox]

Challenges Facing the 21st Century

Margaret Thatcher
Former Prime Minister of Great Britain

Margaret Thatcher earned a degree in chemistry form Somerville College, Oxford and a master of arts degree from University of Oxford. She worked several years as a research chemist and then as a barrister, specializing in tax law. She was elected to the House of Commons in 1953 and held several ministerial appointments. She was elected leader of the opposition Conservative Party in 1975. In 1979 she was elected prime minister and served in that position - winning re-election in 1983 and 1987 - until resigning in 1990. In 1992 she was elevated to the House of Lords, becoming Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

The following is a condensed version of Lady Thatcher's speech delivered on February 19,2001, in Fort Myers, Florida, at a Hillsdale College Seminar.
Reprinted by permission from IMPRIMIS, the national speech digest of Hillsdale College (www.Hillsdale.edu)

When I came to office in 1979, years of socialist policies had placed our country and our people in terrible shape. The top tax rate on earned income was 83 percent, and on investment income it was 98 percent. There were controls on prices, controls on income, controls on investment, and controls on foreign exchange. To get permission to do anything, one had to go through a set of bureaucratic committees. Yet we were hopeful.

I decided that we weren't going to go slowly in restoring the free and hardworking Britain I had known as a child. I determined that the only thing to do was to knock out these controls at once, and return to being a free society. So in six weeks we got all the top rates of tax down to 40 percent. We also changed trade union law for the simple reason that the trade unions were almost running the country. Over a period of 18 months we had to change the rules and make certain that before the unions went on strike, they would have to place the issue on a ballot and obtain a majority vote by their members. This was not required before. And we privatized. Practically every major industry had been placed under state control, and there was no stimulus to work because these industries didn't have to produce a dividend.

But these economic moves were only a part of our work. A more difficult task is to get people motivated to work once they have gotten used to controls. History has taught us that freedom cannot long survive unless it is based on moral foundations. You can get the economics right, but in addition liberty must be cultivated as a moral quality. The right to liberty is fundamental. But it is what a person or a people do with it that tells their caliber and their fiber, and that decides whether they will continue to be free, and whether their nation will be prosperous. The virtues prized in free countries are honesty, self-discipline, a sense of responsibility to one's family, a sense of loyalty to one's employer and staff, and a pride in the quality of one's work. And these virtues only flourish in a climate of freedom.

Communism's Lingering Effects
Britain has now, despite its relatively small population, the fourth-largest economy in the world. This is a result of getting initiative and enterprise back and of giving people an incentive to work. We must keep this in mind when we look at some of the problems that affect the world today. Look, for example, at the nations of the former Soviet Union. Russia, by far the biggest of these, has so many natural resources that it should be one of the richest countries in the world. It is communism and its lingering effects that have prevented Russia from becoming what it should, and from doing the best for its people. Of course Russia's political system has changed. But it is not easy for people who have acted for decades only under instruction or control to go about setting up small businesses. So what you tend to get during the transition from socialism to freedom is quite a lot of corruption. You can't have true liberty without a rule of law. We haven't thought about this closely enough before. Any country coming to liberty must acquire a rule of law based on equity, fairness, and justice. It is something to which we must give the greatest attention. If you're going to have freedom, it must be under a rule of law that must apply equally to everyone.

Another communist country, of course, is China. We in Britain had to deal with China because of the end of our leasehold on Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong under British rule had an average income of about $28,000 per year, compared to $800 per year in China. These are the same people, with the same abilities and the same talents. The difference is that Hong Kong was a free society with a rule of law, and China was a total dictatorship. And I'm afraid China's leaders haven't yet learned the lesson. China, of all the countries in the world, is the most closed - much more so than Russia. It is difficult anymore to hide the fact that the number of people who lost their lives under communism in the last century - not in war, but simply because of the heavy handedness of government - approaches 100 million. Twenty million people lost their lives in the Soviet Union, 65 million lost their lives in China, and two million people lost their lives in Cambodia, and so on. This fact stands as an object lesson for the whole world, and trade only increases the tendency for this and other facts to become known. Communism produces neither dignity nor prosperity. It takes all power away from the people and places it in the hands of a self-appointed elite. And because it distorts and manipulates the distinctive talents of individuals rather than letting those talents flourish, it prevents progress and prosperity.

Strength In Defense
Out of 150 states in the world, only 72 are free countries with democracy. So there's a long way to go yet. But as we get more and more communication and travel, and as more and more people come to see how we in the free counties run our affairs, one has to have great hope for the future. Yet there's a further thing I must say: We must always keep up our strength in defense. My generation remembers that we had such faith after World War I that there could never be another world war, we let our defenses down too far. They had to be restored very quickly when World War II began, and it was very difficult during the early stages. We must keep our defenses up and we must have equipment of the very latest technology. This is absolutely vital. I believe the first duty of any government is to protect the lives of its citizens under all circumstances. And we do that by having the latest technology in the United States.

My friends, you're citizens of a wonderful country. You've built the greatest country in the world in terms of establishing the rule of law, defending the freedoms of others, and building a most prosperous future for your people. If those who do not have liberty would be guided by your example, what a much better world it would be. In the meantime, what I call the English-speaking peoples, who have for so long defended liberty for the rest of the world, must continue to keep up that reputation, and to help those who still do not enjoy the liberty we take for granted.

Disclaimer

The term 'chicks' is in no way meant to be derogatory towards women. We should know, we are women ourselves, and happen to like the term as a celebration of being a woman.

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[vannrox]

I enjoyed this read. There is alot more here than what meets the eye.

[what's up]

I loved reading this. Thanks.

[Fintan]

Thanks. I needed fresh air and a dose of Margaret Thacher.

Of course, FR is the only place I'll be able to read this...

[Stultis]

The Great Ones, Maggie and Ronnie. So sad they were silenced just years apart. But what a wonderful difference they made to the World during those years they led, lifting Americans and Brits out of the "malaise" to which their predecessors had fully capitulated, and lifting tens of millions around the world out of degradation and oppression.