From Silk to Silicon by Jeffrey E. Garten

Author:Jeffrey E. Garten
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-01-24T16:00:00+00:00

“A Battle Between Two Ways of Life”

Margaret entered Oxford University in October 1944, focusing her studies on chemistry. She joined both the Methodist Study Group and the Oxford University Conservative Association, which gave her a first shot at politics in a circle of like-minded students. When the war ended in 1945, the Labour Party mounted a serious challenge to the Conservative government of Winston Churchill, warning that in its battle-weary condition Britain could fall back into the depression of the 1930s. Labour argued that the only way to rebuild bomb-blasted cities and to resolve postwar shortages of housing and jobs was to put the state in charge of the economy and in control of key industries. Although the Conservatives opposed this big increase in state power, they nevertheless supported a significant role for government and had a hard time clearly distinguishing themselves from Labour.

Thatcher had no such problem. Even as a university student she gained attention for her ability to explain the distinguishing character of Conservative ideas with conviction and passion. Foreshadowing the contentious issues that would define her career for the next half-century, she banged away at socialism, at government control of industry and social services, at what she felt was the pernicious influence of labor unions in national politics. Like her father, she was a fiery patriot and took an expansive view of the role Britain should play in the world, despite the reality that the empire was in retreat, its finances stretched to the breaking point by war, and its military influence eclipsed by the United States and the Soviet Union.

As an Oxford student Thatcher participated in campus debates and frequently returned to Grantham to warm up audiences who were waiting to hear from professional politicians. She took lessons in public speaking to sharpen her delivery. At school she read voraciously, her ideas shaped by conservative classics like The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek’s withering forecast for the future of socialism; Imperial Commonwealth, Lord Elton’s positive vision for the future of the British Empire; and Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler’s novel about the brutal realities of Soviet communism.

Leaving Oxford in 1947 with a degree in chemistry, Margaret found a job as a research chemist at British Xylonite Plastics. Later she worked in the research department of J. Lyons & Co. in Hammersmith, testing the quality of cake fillings and ice cream. But politics consumed her nights and weekends. In 1948, she received her first big break when she attended a Conservative Party conference in Llandudno, Wales, and met the chairman of a local party association, John Miller. He was looking for a candidate to run for Parliament in his district, a suburb southeast of London called Dartford. For many years Dartford had voted overwhelmingly for Labour, but Miller thought his forceful young candidate would at least mount a credible campaign. Margaret Roberts went on to lose that election in 1950 and another in 1951, but she impressed everyone with her ideas and her energy. Managing on four hours’ sleep, she visited shop workers in their stores and laborers in their factories.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.