There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters - Overview

Overview

There Is No Alternative is an attempt by the author to explore the rise and success of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who Berlinski argues was an important and remarkable leader. It credits Thatcher with the transformation of British society from an empire eternally in decline with a weak economy and an irrelevant political culture to a modern, wealthy, influential nation. The comeback of the United Kingdom mirrors that of Thatchers own rise from lower-middle class beginnings. Berlinski credits her with being the catalyst for the deconstruction of the post-war socialistic policies of Europe, and the rise of the global free-market revolution.

Berlinski uses archival research, author accounts as a person living through the Thatcher years in the United Kingdom, and a number of interviews to examine Thatcher's rise to power, what drove her crusade against socialism, the importance of her victories and the costs to the country her transformation caused. Berlinski argues that Thatcher was able to achieve power and influence that no woman before her was able to do, and that she used her femininity for political purposes to help advance her push back against socialism.

The author claims to be "on her side", yet also examines the negative aspects of Thatcher's reign. The text outlines what Berlinski describes as the failures of monetarism and the bitter social issues her policies helped create in Britain. Yet she argues that despite Thatcher's failures, her significance and impact on British society can not be denied.

Berlinski has said that her goal in writing this biography was to inform, but also entertain the reader. She attempts to give the text a dramatic treatment which will recreate Thatcher's personality and the environment she was surrounded with. She argues that it is not an academic work, but rather a work of popular non-fiction.