LETTERS New fiction
Sir: I admire T. E. Utley more than somewhat, up to and including his essay on Mrs Thatcher (9 August). But he rejects too swiftly what he terms the 'illusion' of Thatcherism.
He is, of course, right that Thatcherism is a fiction used by the Left to describe things they are against. But it is a useful fiction (in the sense eleborated by that forgotten philosopher Hans Vahinger). It Indicates a definite change in politics. Mr Utley is right that Mr Heath used the same language on privatisation — but not for long. And he merely denationalised Tho- mas Cook, some pubs in Carlisle and not much else. `Thatcherism' implies the politi- cally unexpected — that action will quite Often follows words in the disentanglement from corporatism.
We must not, of course, mistake useful fictions and semi-fictions for absolute reali- ties. This applies to the accompanying useful fiction to Thatcherism — Adam Smithism. This abstractive fiction (to use a Vahinger concept) of Smith's harmony of egoistic interests has more value than many fictions but it is dangerous as an hypothesis or a dogma.
Michael Ivens,
40 Doughty Street, London WC1
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