To be sure, these examples are not meant to suggest that Reagan
and Thatcher were devoid of pragmatism or that they did not make
significant political compromises when deemed necessary. Nor
should one assume that Mulroney and Fraser’s attempts at
neoliberal reform were not genuine despite their relatively vague
generic policies. But what distinguished the Reagan and Thatcher
revolutions, as they would be called, was their forceful articulation
of very particular sets of neoliberal ideas and claims and their
successful translation into concrete policies and programmes.
Moreover, both leaders staffed their cabinets with loyal secretaries
and advisers who shared their points of view. Finally, both Reagan
and Thatcher sought to merge their economic neoliberalism with
more traditional conservative agendas. Some commentators have
even gone so far as to suggest that ‘neoliberalism’ and
‘neoconservatism’ should be used as interchangeable terms. As we
shall see later in this chapter, however, such assertions appear
somewhat exaggerated, for these ideologies are not identical. At the
same time, however, there were significant areas of overlap
between neoliberalism and neoconservatism – especially as applied
to Reaganomics and Thatcherism.