The passing of Mrs Margaret Thatcher today, loathed or adored for bringing Rand-esque 'libertarian' conservatism to the British political mainstream, has provoked sharp responses. The former Prime Minister encouraged a small state, limited welfare government which was often accused of a lack of compassion due to its aversion to state intervention.
As such, the outpourings of hate and good riddance can be understood. But, it can be argued, that those outpourings should not be condoned, as argued on Twitter by Johann Hari:
Thatcherism had contempt for the weak. Now Thatcher is weak & ill, the best rebuttal of her philosophy is not cruel jeering but compassion
— Johann Hari (@johannhari101) December 28, 2012
Fellow lefties! Please don't gloat. Our objection to Thatcher was her horrible lack of compassion; we shouldn't show same lack of compassion
— Johann Hari (@johannhari101) April 8, 2013
Joy at the death of even the deadliest foe is a very dangerous road down which to travel. As the glorification of the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden provoked some concerned reaction, and the cinematic glorifying of the (inaccurate) role of torture used to discover his location, the British political left should be very wary before getting over excited about the passing of their most symbolic enemy.
It would be easy for opponents of Mrs Thatcher to turn to 'cruel jeering'. But if compassion is something you reserve only for those you call your friends or allies, you are embracing, not rejecting, the selfish ideologies you oppose.
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