The Conservative Counter-Revolution in Britain and America 1980-2020

This book assesses the impacts of the right within the US and UK, forty years on from their initial effects upon economic and social orthodoxies. It argues that one way of understanding the main developments in the political economies of the major Anglophone countries during these decades is to see them as a conservative reaction to the New Deal and the Welfare State, and the associated growth in state intervention, expenditure and regulation. The recent rise in ‘authoritarian populism’ can be seen as a popular response to the policies associated with this reaction, the response being exploited by populist demagogues like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Marine Le Pen. Written in a lively and engaging manner, this book will be of interest to academics and students in politics, economics, sociology and contemporary history, as well as general readers.