ABSTRACT
Certain attributes reappear regularly and they can be arranged under four headings: an enterprise shaped by economic concerns; a drive for power; a moral crusade; an intrinsically self-contradictory undertaking. A more colourful, and wholly different because irrational, character is assigned to Thatcherism by those who see it as a drive for power. Both power and money are dismissed as Thatcherite objectives by those who regard Thatcherism as a moral crusade. Some commentators, having noticed this difficulty, try to deal with it by characterizing Thatcherism as an inherently self-contradictory project. A grander version of the 'dash for power' view of Thatcherism equates it with a drive to enhance the glory of Britain. Thatcherism is described as a Gaullist project, out to demonstrate that Britain no longer suffered from 'a crisis of governability and legitimacy'. Strengthening the power of the state was part of a grand mission to restore Britain's standing among the great nations.
