Meanings
- UKgovernmentThe political ideology attributed to the governments of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), characterised by, among other things, a free market economy, privatisation, low taxation, austerity and opposition to unionisation.
Thus “Thatcherism” is—give or take one or two elements—the corresponding political bedfellow of a period of capitalist recession: the significant differences between this and other variants of Tory “philosophy” being conceived as without any specific pertinent political or ideological effects.
1979 January, Stuart Hall, “The Great Moving Right Show”, in Marxism Today, page 14
Origin
From Thatcher + -ism. Popularized by Jamaican-born British sociologist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall in an article in Marxism Today, see quotations.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 撒切爾主義 /撒切尔主义
- 撒切爾主義 /撒切尔主义 (Sāqiè'ěr zhǔyì)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Czech thatcherismus
- thatcherismuspolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Danish thatcherisme
- thatcherismepolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Dutch thatcherisme
- thatcherismepolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Finnish thatserismi, thatcherismi
- thatserismipolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
- thatcherismipolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
- thatcherilaisuuspolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
- thatcheriläisyyspolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
French thatchérisme
- thatchérismepolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
German Thatcherismus
- Thatcherismuspolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Italian thatcherismo
- thatcherismopolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Japanese サッチャリズム
- サッチャリズム (satcharizumu)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Korean 대처주의, 대처리즘
- 대처주의 (daecheojuui)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
- 대처리즘 (daecheorijeum)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Norwegian thatcherisme
- thatcherismepolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Polish thatcheryzm, taczeryzm
- thatcheryzmpolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
- taczeryzmpolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Portuguese thatcherismo
- thatcherismopolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Romanian thatcherism
- thatcherismpolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Russian тэтчери́зм
- тэтчери́зм (tɛtčerízm)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Spanish thatcherismo
- thatcherismopolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Thai ลัทธิแทตเชอร์
- ลัทธิแทตเชอร์ (lát-tí tɛ̂ɛt-chəə)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Turkish thatcherizm
- thatcherizmpolitical ideology of Thatcher's governments
Ukrainian тетчери́зм
- тетчери́зм (tetčerýzm)political ideology of Thatcher's governments
Cite this entry
Thatcherism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thatcherism
“Thatcherism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thatcherism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Thatcherism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thatcherism.
Source: Thatcherism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.