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Margaret Thatcher: A Modern Leader

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Margaret Thatcher: A Modern Leader

By: Amy Edwards, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Amy Edwards
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About this listen

The 1980s was a decade of change for many countries, but for Great Britain, it could be considered radical. The economic transformation of Britain during that period bears the indelible mark of Margaret Thatcher and her policies.

In this Audible Original, Professor Amy Edwards takes you through the life and leadership of Margaret Thatcher. See how she went from being a shopkeeper’s daughter who lived above her parent’s corner shop to holding Britain’s top job and earning a reputation as one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century.

In addition, Professor Edwards considers just how revolutionary the social, economic, and political changes overseen by Thatcher’s government really were and the effects they had on the daily lives of Britons of all ages and classes. And she concludes with Thatcher’s contentious fall from power, showing how, even after the end of her premiership, “Thatcherism” continued to live on under her successors.

©2023 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC 20th Century Europe Great Britain Modern Politicians Politics & Activism
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Please Google Dr Amy Edwards & you can quickly read about her academic interests which include Thatcher, capitalism & things like share ownership. ‘My research focuses on cultures of capitalism, business, and finance and the ways that people experience largescale economic change at the level of the everyday’.

Amy moderates PHDs in this area. She has written a few books. SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to say that Thatcher did not believe in society. If Amy got this wrong and misrepresented what Thatcher said, what else has Amy got wrong & misrepresented in these lectures?

It takes a few seconds to find out that of course Thatcher did believe in society but the rhetorical point she was making was that individuals should help others less fortunate not an amorphous blob called society. It is the actions of individual men & women that counts.

Google AI:

The [misquote], "There is no such thing as society," is widely considered a significant misrepresentation of what Margaret Thatcher said in the original interview.

The article was an interview in Woman's Own magazine, published on October 31, 1987. The interview itself was conducted by Douglas Keay on September 23, 1987.

Here is the full quote and the crucial surrounding context from the original transcript of that interview:

'Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher):

I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand 'I have a problem, it is the Government's job to cope with it!' or 'I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it!' 'I am homeless, the Government must house me!' and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society?

There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.

There is [a] living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate'. (END of Women's Own quote).

The phrase "There is no such thing [as society]" was used to reject the idea of an anonymous, abstract entity that can solve all personal problems, not to dismiss the connection between people. She immediately followed it by defining what "society" actually is: a "living tapestry of men and women and people" where individuals have a duty to take responsibility for themselves and "help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate."

The key context that is almost always omitted is the immediate explanation of what exists instead of an abstract "society," and the call for personal and communal responsibility. [End of Google AI quote].

Amy tries to appear objective but's clearly biased

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shame the author started so well including international factors for the economic woes of the 1970s, and the backing of Mr Thatcher that afforded Mrs Thatcher her shot at politics, but fell into thee same old rhetoric when addressing the Unions and the unofficial walk out of the miners, 80% on strike interesting stat, remind me and the listeners of the result of the ballot, then the infamous quote out of context that is endlessly repeated 'no such thing as society' taken from a 7 page interview, were Thatcher was denouncing those who abuse the benefit system, after all Thatcher apart from Boris is certain to split opinion

started well but skipped a lot

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