The Iron Lady - Thatcherism again….
Posted on | January 21, 2012 |
I confess, I haven't yet seen "The Iron Lady". I'm afraid to. I'm afraid about how angry I'll get. I've been reading reviews, though. In the US people are charmed; in the UK people seem to be stunned that a movie could miss the point so badly. I left England, nearly thirty years ago, when Thatcher's reign was at its height. I did so because almost all the jobs had died out, and Thatcher was killing what few remained. Some areas suffered 30% unemployment for decades (which translated into almost total unemployment in the 16-20 age group). This, I will remind you, was the Prime Minister who was only driven out of office, at last, because she insisted on a "Poll Tax". A Poll Tax is a tax on being alive, and cynically Thatcher enacted it on those she had caused to be thrown out of work or who had never been able to work at all, arguing that they'd never vote for her party anyway, so why not upset them? Yes, she taxed the unemployed. At the time the nation could hardly believe it, and riots erupted. Even her own cabinet was outraged; and that was that. At one point she asked her alma mater, Oxford University, for an honorary degree. She was refused, and the reason given was that she had done "more to destroy higher education in England than any politician in the last two centuries". Her response? She cut the University's funding. Wounded vanity is a terrible thing. This is the Thatcher whose economic policy was to take North Sea Oil revenues and spend the money (it's all gone now) without arranging for any long term investment or meaningful return for the population, let alone a coherent energy policy. The economic misery in England was very real for many people, for a very long time. I could go on. But I think the point is this: I'm not that keen on movies that depict tyrants and somehow endeavor to show them as sympathetic while glossing over their worst offenses. I feel there's something immoral in that.Category: Uncategorized
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