Books, Arts & Manners

The Anatomy of Thatcherism, by Shirley Robin Letwin (Transaction, 377 pp., $32.95)

THE ESSENCE of conservatism is conveyed by the story of the Irishman who, asked for directions, replied: “If I wanted to go there, I wouldn’t start from here.” Liberals think they know where they’re going, but they don’t know where they’ve come from. As every conservative knows, the past is reality. It tells us what we really are.

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Kenneth Minogue

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The Anatomy of Thatcherism, by Shirley Robin Letwin (Transaction, 377 pp., $32.95)

THE ESSENCE of conservatism is conveyed by the story of the Irishman who, asked for directions, replied: “If I wanted to go there, I wouldn’t start from here.” Liberals think they know where they’re going, but they don’t know where they’ve come from. As every conservative knows, the past is reality. It tells us what we really are.