With the passing of Margaret Thatcher, the media has been replete with Lady Thatcher quotes. And while all have merit, it is her response to a Labor party member who accused her policies of widening the gap between the rich and poor, that is my favorite. In response to this typical Leftist charge that somehow wealth creates more poverty, Lady Thatcher said, "You are not concerned with the poor becoming poorer, as long as the rich become less rich."
This charge by Prime Minister Thatcher is illustrative of the core of Leftist thought. Statist policies are not designed to help their stated beneficiaries as much as they are to punish a manufactured "boogy man" that is held responsible by the statist for the ills suffered by the less prosperous. This "boogy man" is usually the wealthy or a business entity, but it can also be a shared value system that the Leftist does not agree with or that does not fit his agenda, like traditional marriage. On issue after issue, if you examine the Leftist position, you will find as the driving force for their animation that simple yet eloquent statement made by Margaret Thatcher. The Lefts entire ideology and political fortunes are based on convincing one class of citizen that their troubles are the result of another class of citizens and that they, the Leftist ruling class, are the only ones who can even the score using the power and authority of big government. But the score is never evened, and everyone is worse off except the ruling class.
The truth of Lady Thatcher's statement can be seen in the current debate over gun control in this country, even though it is not an issue specifically about rich and poor. At first glance, gun control may not seem to have anything to do with Margaret Thatcher's statement. But remember that the statement is a window into the Leftist soul which is driven by the desire to create a "boogy man" and then present big government as the only entity that can slay him. In the case of gun control, make no mistake, the boogy man is the second amendment specifically and the Constitution in general. And Leftists in the Democrat party do not care if their policies lead to people becoming less safe, as long as they also become less free and are more subject to an ever expanding central government that is under the control of Leftist ideology.
Lady Thatcher knew, as all who even glance at history know, that Leftist policies and ideology do not work, have never worked and will never work. That is if the aim is to achieve a society that is the most free, the most just and the most prosperous. Free market capitalism with limited government involvement works best for achieving these goals because it can create wealth. Government can only confiscate wealth and redistribute it, it has no ability to generate wealth by its existence. Prime Minister Thatcher also knew, as the late great Milton Friedman said, that the best remedy for poverty is wealth. A wealthy and prosperous society breeds less government dependence which is a major source of corruption in any culture. I have always failed to understand how Leftists think that it is better for a society to have fewer rich people, but then again, prosperity and the liberty which ensues from the existence of wealth, is not the goal of Leftist ideology. A truism that Lady Thatcher knew and articulated in one succinct statement.
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