Abstract
Thatcherism is a political thought applied by the 3 successive governments led by Margaret Thatcher, from 1979 to 1990. It quickly evolved as a doctrine. Thatcherism came at a time when the post-war consensus was collapsing, and aimed at checking the decline of the British economy, suffering "retro development". Thatcherism finds its roots in the "New Right" economic theories of Hayek, Friedman, and the School of Chicago. A thorough economic liberalism: Thatcherism advocates a pragmatic and common sense freedom of the market. As Hayek, Mrs Thatcher is a fierce detractor of exaggerated state interventions. Thatcherism focuses on the market rather than on the State to share out resources. The market naturally regulates itself, without any necessity for planning. For Hayek and, therefore, Thatcher, Planning and freedom cannot be combined. Thatcherism denies planning because it means risk aversion. No incomes policy is consequently necessary. It also induces lots of privatizations and low taxations to improve the competitiveness of the country.
