Thatcherism attempts to promote low inflation, the
small state and
free markets through
tight control of the money supply,
privatisation and constraints on the
labour movement. It is often compared with
Reaganomics in the United States,
economic rationalism in Australia and
Rogernomics in New Zealand and as a key part of the worldwide
economic liberal movement.
Thatcherism is thus often compared to
classical liberalism.
Milton Friedman said that "Margaret Thatcher is not in terms of belief a Tory. She is a
nineteenth-century Liberal".
[10] Thatcher herself stated during a speech in 1983: "I would not mind betting that if Mr Gladstone were alive today he would apply to join the Conservative Party".
[11] In the 1996 Keith Joseph memorial lecture, Thatcher argued: "The kind of Conservatism which he and I [...] favoured would be best described as 'liberal', in the old-fashioned sense. And I mean the liberalism of Mr Gladstone, not of the latter day
collectivists".
[12] Thatcher once told
Friedrich Hayek: "I know you want me to become a Whig; no, I am a Tory". Hayek believed "she has felt this very clearly".
[13] The relationship between Thatcherism and liberalism is complicated. Thatcher's former defence secretary
John Nott claimed that "it is a complete misreading of her beliefs to depict her as a nineteenth-century Liberal".
[14]
