The Tory Debacle: Is Thatcher to Blame?
Mini Teaser: Jonathan Clarke and others discuss the reasons for the Tory electoral defeat in May 1997.
The greatest significance of "Europe" for Conservatives is ignored by
Clarke. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended the old ideological
divide between capitalism and communism. Now the crucial intellectual
and ideological battle is between two different models of capitalism. One
of the most interesting Continental analyses of the battle is Michel Albert's
book Capitalism versus Capitalism (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993),
while in Britain it is the theme of Will Hutton's appallingly influential The State We're In
(London: Vintage, 1996). Both books argue that there is a choice for Britain
to make between the European social model and what the critics call
Anglo-American capitalism. It is a real choice. This battle of ideas is fought
out in international institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and above
all the European Union. The authorities in Brussels explicitly see themselves
as pursuing an agenda of creating a European social model. This means heavier
regulation of the labor market. It means trade that is made "fair" by eliminating
the "unfairness" of "social dumping." It means trying to create a uniform European
model of corporate governance. It rests above all on the belief that the market
is a bitter pill that can only be swallowed if it is generously sugar-coated with state subsidies.
As every day passes, the evidence mounts that it is the Anglo-American
model that yields economic growth, rising prosperity, and more employment,
while the European model threatens to bring back the old Euro-sclerosis of the
1970s. One of the things that we Conservatives tried--and sadly failed--to do
in the 1997 General Election was to focus the British electorate's attention on
this ideological divide. Tony Blair's agenda of signing up to the European Social
Chapter, imposing a minimum wage, and placing himself in the tradition of
European social democracy threatens much of what Margaret Thatcher
and John Major have achieved since 1979. Our view of the world was
caricatured as harsh and selfish, whereas Labour instead promised a cozier
world of compassion, security, and "partnership." That is the real debate
about the direction Britain must take and it is "Europe" that brings it to life.