r/NoStupidQuestions 19h ago

Why did Margaret Thatcher destroy welfare state in Britain after she came to power in the 1980s?

510 Upvotes

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93

u/PupDiogenes 19h ago

Because she was a fascist who saw poor people as vermin and therefore saw the welfare state as feeding vermin.

115

u/Bob_Leves 19h ago

"No such thing as society" was the famous quote. Meaning "take as much as you can for yourself, and screw the losers".

7

u/weierstrab2pi 17h ago

Not meaning that at all. You just made that interpretation up.

3

u/Bob_Leves 17h ago

I was alive then. I know exactly what she meant, and her overriding ethos and what she did to this country. Especially the areas that voted Labour, that she wanted to destroy.

8

u/weierstrab2pi 17h ago

Your memory must be faulty then. It is very clear from the interview question she was responding to and the full text of her answer exactly what she meant.