New Right

Principles

The main principles of New Right philosophy were set out by Friedrich Hayek (1944) and Milton Friedman (1962). The New Right is interpreted slightly differently in each country, and some examples are set out below. Generally, though, it is closely related to the development of consumerism and characterized by those political parties and governments that are proponents of individualism and challenge the social democratic consensus of postwar welfare states.

The relationship of the New Right to consumerism is strongly linked to the principles of allowing consumers free choice and therefore dictates the economic structure of a society—that demand should create supply. It therefore contrasts somewhat with the basic tenets of consumerism, which is usually interpreted as people purchasing goods and consuming materials in excess of their basic needs. For example, Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in the 1980s emphasized seeking “value for money” in government expenditure, setting up market-style arrangements for purchasing and providing services at the local level, and treating users of social services as consumers.

The New Right Internationally

In Australia, the New Right emerged in the 1970s and 1980s and advocated more socially conservative policies, in contrast to the “Old Right,” which in turn had advocated economically conservative policies. The prime minister at the time, John Howard, implemented some New Right reforms such as partial privatization, but these, like those adopted in New Zealand, were not wholesale, as they were in the United Kingdom and the United States, which have historically been the main proponents of New Right policies.

In contrast with countries such as the United Kingdom where the New Right is associated with Conservative parties, in New Zealand, the Labour Party adopted New Right policies while simultaneously pursuing more liberal policies, such as decriminalizing homosexuality and implementing equal pay legislation. In 1987, the Labour Party won the election with the majority of voters approving of such synthesis. After this election, however, New Zealand began to pursue privatization of state departments, following in the United Kingdom's Conservative Thatcher government. Eventually, these policies began to be opposed by political parties such as the Alliance Party, who joined with the Greens and others who were against New Right economics.

In the United Kingdom, the emergence of the New Right in the early 1980s was accompanied by commentaries on the family, crime, and education. It can be argued that Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister between 1979 and 1991, was much influenced by both Hayek's work and the close working relationship shared with Ronald Reagan, U.S. president from 1981 to 1989, whose thinking was similarly right wing. This form of Conservatism has since become known as Thatcherism. The New Right intended to dismantle the welfare state, which they considered had allowed some to become overly dependent on it, as well as privatization of nationalized industries and the reduction of power that trades unions had over employers and the economy (Hills and Stewart 2005).

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