Lady Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) “was the first woman to
become prime minister of Britain and the first to lead a major Western power in
modern times. Hard-driving and hardheaded, she led her Conservative Party to
three straight election wins and held office for 11 years — May 1979 to
November 1990 — longer than any other British politician in the 20th century. The
strong economic medicine she administered to a country sickened by inflation,
budget deficits and industrial unrest brought her wide swings in popularity,
culminating with a revolt among her own cabinet ministers in her final year and
her shout of “No! No! No!” in the House of Commons to any further integration
with Europe. But by the time she left office, the principles known as
Thatcherism — the belief that economic freedom and individual liberty are
interdependent, that personal responsibility and hard work are the only ways to
national prosperity, and that the free-market democracies must stand firm
against aggression — had won many disciples. Even some of her strongest critics
accorded her a grudging respect.” (New York Times, April 8, 2013). She spoke of
the principles of individual liberty and economic freedom on a visit to the
United States twenty years ago. Following are excerpts from her speech “The Moral Challenges for the Next Century” given
at Brigham Young University on March 5, 1996.
Liberty,
that great political idea—sanctifying freedom, and consecrating it to God;
teaching men to treasure the liberties of others as their own; to defend them
for the love of justice and charity more than as a claim of right—has been the
soul of what is great and good. (Quoting Lord Acton)
America,
my friends, is the only country in the world actually founded on liberty— the
only one. People went to America to be free. The Founding Fathers journeyed to
this country across the perilous seas not for subsidies—there weren’t any—not
to make a fortune even, but to worship God in their own way and by their
example to perpetuate freedom and justice more widely….They believed, each and
every one of them, in the sanctity of the individual. That, after all, is our
faith: that each and every person matters equally, and that each of us is
accountable to his God for his actions and for the use of his talents.
Those
Pilgrim fathers came with the faith that infused the whole nation. Yours is the
only nation founded on liberty. And you’re founded on liberty because of that
faith.
Indeed,
Sir Edward Gibbon, who also wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote
tellingly of the collapse of Athens, the birthplace of democracy. What he wrote
has great meaning for us—we should heed it. He said, speaking of the Athenians:
In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security and they
wanted a comfortable life. And they lost it all—security, comfort, and freedom.
The Athenians finally wanted not to give to society, but for society to give to
them. When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility,
then Athens ceased to be free. That should be an object lesson to us all.
There
can be no freedom or liberty without a rule of law because otherwise, as you
know, it would be the freedom of the strong to oppress the weak. There is
something very unique in the character of the people of Britain, and they
brought that uniqueness here and added many other things to it— right from the
year 1215, when we had the great Magna Carta, when the barons squared up to a
king because he was taxing them and taxing them. They said, “We’re not going to
pay you monies unless you first redress our grievances.” And they didn’t.
It
is now an election time, I gather, over here. I say this to you: Expediency and
pragmatism are never enough. When I had to pull Britain around, we worked out
our principles, once again renewed them, worked out our policies from our
principles, and then implemented our programs. And they were all of a piece
because we had the faith on our side, and we knew that what we were doing was
fundamentally right.
I
should perhaps say also, not only are pragmatism and expediency not enough, but
followership isn’t enough either. You know, some people look at their opinion
polls. I never did. I thought I was better off without them. But some people
practice followership. There was in the last century a politician in France,
Ledru-Rollin, who had his own definition of leadership. After a big meeting in
an open square one day, he went back to his office, saw a group of his own
people moving away, and said to his companion, “There go my people. I must find
out where they’re going so that I can lead them there.” No, if you are going to
chart the way into a better future, you must have a compass of enduring values
and principles to steer by.
What
about capitalism and free enterprise? When I first came into politics, we used
to hear the left wing denigrating free enterprise. They suggested that a
command and centrally controlled economy maximizingthe powers of government and
minimizing those of the people would produce better results—because, after all,
government knew best and could plan everything….Now that is the ideological
battle of this century. But I think those of us who believe as passionately as
we do in a free society should put the case of capitalism much more positively
than that it merely performs better. Capitalism is economic liberty. It is a
vital element in the network of freedom. It is a moral quality, for it reflects
man and his right to use his God-given talents.
You
get the best results by men and women exercising their God-given talents and
working together and responding to the needs of the market in a community of
work. Of course, the market’s never been unfettered. It requires a framework of
law, regulations about weights and measures, regulations about accurate
description, and so on. This will change with the circumstances, but these laws
must never stifle the spirit of enterprise.
Many
years ago, Edmund Burke, the great commentator, philosopher, and member of
Parliament, had it right when he criticized measures to secure economic
equality. He said this: “It is the character of egalitarian measures that they
pull down what is above. They never raise what is below. Beware dependency on
the state.” This was in 1770. Beware dependency on the state. Once used to such
support, people would never be satisfied to have it otherwise.
But,
my friends, freedom has responsibilities as well. As we look ahead, some people
are taking the freedom and leaving the responsibilities. This is giving us one
of the most serious problems, one of the most acute problems, of the future.
The values and virtues we prize are honesty, self-discipline, a sense of
responsibility to one’s family, a sense of loyalty to one’s employer and staff,
and pride in the quality of one’s work. All these flourish in a climate of
enlightened politics. But these qualities are threatened in the West by a lack
of respect for the rights, freedom, and property of others—and thought for
others. This manifests itself in two ways: in rising crime and violence, as
people go and take what they want and have no sense of morality towards others,
and also in the breakdown of the family arising from a vastly increased number
of children born to single parents.
No
government at any level, or at any price, can afford, on the crime side, the
police necessary to assure our safety unless the overwhelming majority of us
are guided by an inner, personal code of morality. And you will not get that
inner, personal code of morality unless children are brought up in a family—a
family that gives them the affection they seek, that makes them feel they
belong, that guides them to the future, and that will build continuity in
future generations….Indeed, I would say, the greatest inequality today is not
inequality of wealth or income. It is the inequality between the child brought
up in a loving, supportive family and one who has been denied that birthright.
Now,
my friends, we must never be complacent. We must never think that there will be
perpetual peace. That is what they thought after World War I. We must be
vigilant to see that we are fully and strongly equipped should anyone dare to,
or want to, attack us. Dictators are frightened by the strength of others. They
are attracted by weakness. Let us be vigilant to ensure that the great heart,
as Winston would have put it, has his sword and armor to guard the pilgrims on
their way.
May
I finish with the words from a great hymn [we used to sing it in school]
I
vow to thee, my country—all earthly things above—
Entire
and whole and perfect, the service of my love...
And
there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most
dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We
may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her
fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And
soul by soul and silently, her shining bounds increase,
And
her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.
[“I
Vow to Thee, My Country,” music by Gustav Holst and words by Cecil Spring Rice]
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