Being one of Thatcher's children, I feel fairly fixed in my contempt for Margaret Thatcher. And perhaps naively, I often assume that this is the general consensus. I'm always surprised when friends and colleagues who I consider to be level headed individuals have positive things to say about her legacy.
My own view is that she fostered a culture of economic individualism which goes against the grain of the basis of humanity which I believe to be co-operation, sharing, and compassion. She pitched us all against each other by declaring that there was 'no such thing as society', merely a collection of individuals. For a person who apparently espoused such fervent conservative ideals as family values and traditional British values, she did more than any other prominent figure to disolve them entirely. Consequently, we live in a society where people have very little regard for their fellow human beings and take very little responsibility for their actions.
I make my stance clear and I'm not ashamed of that; it would be interesting to see what other perspectives people hold on Thatcher's legacy and where it has lead us as a society...