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Title: Statecraft : Strategies for a Changing World by Margaret Thatcher ISBN: 0-06-095912-6 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: In Defense of Liberty
Comment: Margaret Thatcher is easily one of the most important figures of the 20th century. Whatever your opinion of her poltics and of her personally, you cannot deny the immense affect she has had on the shape of the world today and Britain in particular. In the United States it is largely unknown that Lady Thatcher preceeded President Reagan in office by almost two years. In that time period she was the vanguard of a movement which eventually would sweep the world and would topple the totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe.
Lady Thatcher refers to that movement as Conservatism. As is often the case regarding certain words in the English language, Britain and the United States are two countries separated by a common language. In the United States, to be a conservative really means to have a desire to maintain things as is or to freeze the way things are at a particular moment for all time. A better word to use for conservative in the United States is libertarian.
Lady Thatcher's latest book, "Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World", is primarily a defense of her philosophy of liberty. She also provides assessments of various situations relating to individual countries, international terrorism, and 'globalization' and offers advice on how best to approach them. However, all of Lady Thatcher's proposals revolve around one basic tenet: that individuals, left to make their own decisions about what is best for themselves, will more often than not choose a path of action which not only benefits themselves but also benefits the whole of society too.
A book as densely packed as "Statecraft" is would be too difficult to summarize or critique within the space allotted here. It is well enough to say that advocates of liberty and individualism, such as myself, can find much to learn in this book about why we believe as we do. Being an advocate of liberty is almost an inborn quality of the human spirit. I believe that people who do not trust individualism or liberty to promote the most good have had to have been conditioned against human nature to believe as they do. Reading the works of Lady Thatcher may do a great deal to return one to the belief in that fundamental principle of human existence: government is a necessary evil and that government is best which governs least.
Rating: 5
Summary: Reminds Me Of Another Prime Minister
Comment: Margaret Thatcher's place in history is already firmly established. She earned her place in history's pantheon of great leaders in large part through her unprecedented 3 consecutive electoral victories and the years in office they allowed her to serve, and she continues to closely follow and study global politics as a respected former stateswoman. She is as competent to write on world politics as any leader currently in office, and more qualified than many, whether they currently serve or have served in the past.
Lady Thatcher does not mince words, spin ideas, nor does she change her beliefs to suit the mood of the day. In this book she takes many positions that are not fashionable, politically correct, and will not be welcomed by many in or out of office. She presents her case on dozens of issues and offers summaries of what she believes should be done. I would very much enjoy a rebuttal as competent as her presentation; I doubt very much that I would be swayed. I had the privilege of attending one of her speeches, and if you find her persuasive via her writing, she is extraordinary in person.
That are many topics that deserve close focus, but I enjoyed her extended discussion of what she terms, "euro-land". I may be wrong, but I feel she equates the usefulness and future of The European Union to be as fictional as another land, that of Disney. Disney deals in fantasy, governments should not. The union is also referred to as a form of United States Of Europe; this fiction is dismembered by Lady Thatcher in great detail, and with arguments of more substance than those who advocate the union. She believes that it is inevitable that the program will fail, and that history will record it as one of the greatest follies attempted in history.
Globalism and the concepts of global citizenship are dead on arrival by any rational measure. The European Union is doomed for the same reasons. The world is not populated by homogenous people, language, laws, customs, beliefs, morals, systems of government, or common national interests. And this list is just a small sample. Members who issue the Euro give up a fundamental element of their sovereignty, their right to issue legal tender and manage their economies. The citizens are subject to the laws of their nation, and again this is compromised when a supra-authority like euro-land government develops. Defenders cite the tradition of international law, the miserable record of international law and courts preempts any such defense.
Lady Thatcher also points out the aspirations to produce a military force from the members of the union. Most of these aspirations, which are no more than still born fantasies, are often put forward by two of the members, Germany and France. It's amazing how short memories are. I am not suggesting that Germany has any desire to go to war once again, but it is historical fact that as a nation (now fully reunited) they have not worked and played well with their neighbors. France has routinely been run over or has run away from a German advance. Perhaps France is attempting to make friends with the bully that has historically damaged them so badly. They have a history of collaboration with their nation's enemies; they even round up their own citizens and deport them when told to do so by an occupier. Germany will dominate any union; France will be used as is convenient. The arrogance that is often a hallmark of France is almost laughable to read when they state their intention of creating a union to rival The United States not only economically, but to be independent militarily. As the book provides the facts about military strength and spending at present, and the ability of members to spend, the idea of a military group independent of NATO is simply absurd.
Lady Thatcher virtually walks the reader around the globe on the dozens of trips she has made since leaving office. Her observations are not drawn from reflection in her home, but from first hand experience. How many present or former leaders have stood at mass graves in the former Yugoslavia as bodies were being exhumed? She has, and these first hand on-site experiences give her the authoritative knowledge to comment and suggest. She also maintains relationships with nearly all of the heads of state she interacted with as Prime Minister and many that took office after she departed.
The book is dedicated to President Ronald Reagan, "To whom the world owes so much". The special relationship she had with President Reagan, and the good fortune the world had from these two people in occupying office together for many years, has literally written some of the greatest events of the 20th Century.
I said that she reminded me of another Prime Minister of England. My reasons for saying this grow from her candor, her absolute core beliefs, and her willingness to state what the truth is when it is so unpopular to do so. She rightfully has no time for the nonsense that is political correctness. And even though when he was asked about the likelihood of a woman as Prime Minister he thought the idea was so absurd he barely answered, I believe that were he alive, Prime Minister Churchill would have been a supporter and admirer of Prime Minister Thatcher.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Breath of Fresh Air
Comment: Lady Thatcher may have written her final opus, considering her declining health. If so, she can rest proudly on a heap of laurels. This clear, concise, and articulate volume is a wonderful stand-alone look at the world today. It is a fine analysis of the motivations behind the policies of many nation states. The author mixes her own copious experience on the world political stage with a fine knowledge of history. Although the book is well-referenced and might make a good textbook, it does not attempt the breadth and depth of Kissenger's tome "Diplomacy."
This book is accurate and relatively up-to-date, as Lady Thatcher took pains to do a final, post 9/11, re-write. Anyone looking at the cold war or the modern world from a foreign policy perspective will find her writing invaluable. For everyone else, it is merely a great read and highly informative! I worked for the State Department during much of the period covered by Lady Thatcher and can confirm the accuracy of many of her assertions.
Foreign Policy wonks may get off on the muddled, minutiae-obsessed, and frequently-wrong articles in "Foreign Policy." Liberals and the gang from PC-ville may blanche at Lady Thatcher's frank assessments of the world, her quasi-hagiography of Ronald Reagan, or her damning comments about many recent world leaders, such as Gorbachev. But don't think she tars all liberals and moderates with her negative brush; she has many good things to say about Tony Blair, for instance. Most readers will delight in her prose and her refreshingly candid worldview! Buy it!
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Title: The Path to Power by Margaret Thatcher ISBN: 0002550504 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pub. Date: January, 1995 |
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Title: The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher by Hugo Young ISBN: 0374226512 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 01 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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