The post war neoliberals were divided over the European Economic Community, some viewing it as a protected enclave of the world economy that would hold back the global economic integration they hoped for. Others saw it as the beginnings of a borderless economic zone that would spread around the world, eventually subsuming all questions of politics and ideology to the logic of the market. It turned out to be neither of those things completely and instead became the target of those inheritors of ThatcherismThatcherism Full Description The political and economic programme of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), combining monetarist economics, privatisation of nationalised industries, trade union legislation designed to break union power, deregulation of financial markets, and a confrontational approach to the welfare state. Thatcher’s government defeated the miners’ strike of 1984–85, sold council houses to their tenants, privatised British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, and the water utilities, and liberalised the City of London through the 1986 “Big Bang.” Critical Perspective Thatcherism transformed Britain’s economic model and political culture in ways that proved largely irreversible — successive Labour governments accepted its basic framework. But its costs were distributed very unevenly: the de-industrialisation of the north of England and South Wales created concentrations of long-term unemployment and social deprivation that persisted for decades, while financial deregulation created the City of London’s dominance of the British economy and the instability that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The regional and class divisions Thatcherism deepened continue to shape British politics. that wanted to craft their version of neoliberalismMonetarism Monetarism is the economic school of thought associated with Milton Friedman, which rose to dominance as a counter to Keynesian economics. It posits that inflation is always a monetary phenomenon and that the government’s role should be limited to managing the currency rather than stimulating demand. Key Mechanisms: Inflation Targeting: Using interest rates to keep inflation low, even if high interest rates cause recession or unemployment. Fiscal Restraint: Opposing government deficit spending to boost the economy during downturns. Critical Perspective:Critics argue that monetarism breaks the post-war social contract. By prioritizing “sound money” and low inflation above all else, monetarist policies often induce deliberately high unemployment to discipline the labor force and suppress wages. It represents a technical solution to political problems, removing economic policy from democratic accountability. in one country.

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