Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989, presiding over a transformative era that reshaped American politics, economics, and foreign policy. His presidency, often viewed in tandem with Margaret Thatcher, marked a pivot towards market-driven economic policies and a renewed emphasis on Individualism in Western societies.
Ascension to Power and Political Philosophy
Reagan’s ascent to the presidency in 1980 occurred amidst a period of considerable national challenge, as the United States faced severe economic disaster. The pervasive inflation of the 1970s had decimated much of the nation's traditional heavy industries, leaving millions unemployed.
His campaign message was notably simple, promising both freedom at home and abroad, and advocating for a new form of individualism. Reagan publicly articulated that his leadership would not aim to solve all problems, but rather, through a collaborative effort with the populace, would strive to diminish government interference and "turn them loose" to achieve their potential.
Despite initial skepticism from moderate Republicans, who perceived his approach as suicide, and a largely negative reception from the press, Reagan's message resonated widely, particularly in the pivotal New Hampshire primary.
His appeal transcended traditional demographic divisions of class, age, and gender, creating a strange mosaic of support. This phenomenon was understood by market researchers who had developed the values and lifestyle system, which identified a segment of the population termed "inner directeds."
These individuals, driven by a strong desire to express their individuality, found Reagan's message of individual freedom particularly appealing, demonstrating the paradoxical tendency for the pursuit of uniqueness to result in collective behaviour.
A crucial factor in Reagan's electoral success was the significant turnout of the religious vote, with millions of Christians participating for the first time. This was partly facilitated by an alliance between the burgeoning Neoconservative movement and the religious wing of the Republican Party, who shared a common goal of America's moral regeneration.
Upon his election, many neoconservatives were granted influential positions within his administration. Some analysis suggests that these neoconservative figures effectively acted as lobbyists for various manufacturing firms and as ideological employees, consistently advocating for increased military spending.
They were seen by some as a "small little cabal" within the Reagan White House that orchestrated significant policy shifts, including the implementation of the Reagan Doctrine.
Economic Policies: Reaganomics
Reagan's economic agenda, commonly known as Reaganomics, marked a decisive break from the post-war consensus of government intervention. Embracing monetarism, he explicitly stated that in the prevailing economic crisis, "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem". He pledged that his administration would not directly intervene to alleviate the widespread economic distress.
His economic philosophy drew inspiration from unconventional sources, notably the 14th-century Arab scholar Ibn Khaldun, whose ideas influenced his supply-side economic policies. Reagan paraphrased Khaldun, articulating his goal as achieving "smaller assessments and the great revenues"—a commitment to lower taxes intended to generate greater state revenues.
The new economy under Reagan was envisioned to be driven by "self-actualising individuals," a group identified by market researchers as capable of spearheading economic progress. This period saw a significant shift in capital access, exemplified by figures like Michael Milken, often referred to as the "junk bond guy."
Milken's statistical analysis demonstrated the profitability of high-risk investments, and his methods effectively "democratised the process of getting wealth and power," opening up access to capital previously monopolised by wealthy families and established institutions to younger entrepreneurs. Reagan's public pronouncements, such as "let the bull loose," were understood as deliberate "market signals" intended to influence economic behaviour through rhetoric.
Despite the promises of individual freedom and economic revitalisation, Reagan's administration presided over a rise in inequalities and a dramatic decline in social mobility.
Foreign Policy and the Cold War
Reagan's foreign policy was defined by a hawkish stance against the Soviet Union, inaugurating a new Cold War. A cornerstone of his approach was the Reagan Doctrine, which aimed to actively push back against Soviet influence globally.
This doctrine symbolised a shift in American foreign policy and was embodied by Reagan's decision to dedicate the March 22nd launch of the space shuttle Columbia to the resistance fighters in Afghanistan, portraying their struggle as symbolic of "man's highest aspirations for freedom". His administration massively increased aid to the Afghan rebels, seeing them not merely as nationalists but as "Freedom Fighters" capable of weakening the Soviet Union and furthering the spread of democracy worldwide.
The Neoconservative influence within his administration was central to this strategy. They successfully crafted a "simplistic fiction" that presented the Soviet Union as the epicentre of all global evil, a narrative that effectively mobilised public opinion. This narrative was supported by groups like Team B, which, despite making allegations about Soviet weapon systems that were later found to be entirely incorrect, bolstered the perception of a formidable Soviet threat.
In 1983, Reagan signed a secret document that fundamentally reoriented American foreign policy, committing the nation to covert wars aimed at pushing back against perceived Soviet threats globally. This manifested in Project Democracy, a two-pronged initiative:
- One part openly promoted democracy abroad, supporting pro-democracy movements like Solidarity in Poland and contributing to the overthrow of allied dictators, notably Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and General Pinochet.
- The second part involved the covert use of military force to destabilise foreign regimes that were deemed obstacles to freedom. A primary target was the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, which, despite having been democratically elected, was dismissed as a sham by the Reagan administration. The goal was a change in their policy or, failing that, their overthrow through sustained pressure.
This involved funding and training counter-revolutionary forces known as the Contras, who were implicated in murder, assassination, torture, and were even alleged to have used CIA-supplied planes for cocaine smuggling into the United States.
Furthermore, the Reagan administration engaged in the Iran-Contra affair in 1985, a secret arrangement to sell American weapons to Iranian leaders in exchange for the release of American hostages in Lebanon. The funds from these illegal sales were then diverted to finance the Contras.
Reagan’s administration employed perception management techniques to shape public opinion regarding foreign threats. This involved exaggerating minor threats, such as portraying the "pathetic" Sandinista force in Nicaragua as a danger to Texas or the Panama Canal, and categorising Nicaragua as part of an "axis of Rogue States" alongside Iran and North Korea, all purportedly linked to a global terror network.
Ultimately, the collapse of the Soviet Union was hailed as a triumph of liberal democracy in the West, though it is viewed by some as an "illusionary triumph," with the Soviet system having "rotted away from within" and collapsing like a house of cards. This outcome, however, bought America another like 20 / 30 years to just live off the fumes of that Cold War victory.
Reagan's foreign policy aimed to provide the nation with a new sense of purpose, simplifying complex international issues into reassuring moral fables. He depicted a world where, despite initial struggles between good and evil, goodness and innocence would triumph.
This vision permeated Western thought, redefining traditional political conflicts as battles against "dark demonic forces" that necessitated Western intervention to save innocent populations. However, the pursuit of spreading the ideal of freedom abroad, through manipulation and violence, paradoxically undermined democratic ideals within America itself.
Public Image and Communication Style
Reagan was widely regarded as a great communicator, a skill evident in his carefully crafted speeches and public appearances.
His rhetoric was instrumental in shaping public perception and driving his agenda. Phrases like "let the bull loose," used in reference to economic policy, were not merely statements but market signals, deliberately designed to influence economic behaviour.
He simplified complex economic and foreign policy challenges into understandable, often emotionally resonant, narratives. This was part of a larger system of mass psychological operations that adapted wartime propaganda techniques for peacetime use, a trend that began after World War II and continued into the Reagan era.
Reagan's use of perception management extended to his televised addresses, such as his appearance with maps to illustrate the perceived threat of a chemical attack on America from Nicaragua. His ability to frame societal problems as "you problems" to be solved by individual action, rather than systemic issues, was central to his appeal to the "self-actualising individuals" and contributed to the unique support he garnered.
Relationship with Margaret Thatcher
The relationship between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher was particularly significant, marking a close political and ideological alignment that became a hallmark of the 1980s. Their collaboration was seen as a high point of the Anglo-American Relations.
Thatcher reportedly had a remarkable ability to anticipate Reagan's thoughts, famously interjecting during a dinner at Williamsburg by stating, "and I would be presiding at this dinner rather than you," when Reagan was about to deliver a punchline about how history might have turned out differently.
Thatcher's vision for Britain, which involved regenerating the nation by satisfying the desires of millions of individuals through the free market, was influenced by Winston Churchill,'s fiction of history, asserting Britain was built on Individualism and liberal economics. This coincided directly with Reagan's own "Milton Friedman moment" in America.
The geopolitical reality of the time dictated that any British Prime Minister had to maintain close ties with the United States, a factor that fostered their strong alliance.
Legacy and Broader Context
Reagan's presidency is understood as a pivotal moment in the trajectory of modern Individualism, where the concept of individual self-expression became a central societal goal. His era saw the commodification of desire and the manufacturing of consumer wants, which, despite presenting an illusion of choice, ultimately limited genuine freedom.
Critics note his administration contributed to a "managed psychiatric emergency" in political life, where the general public's agency was intentionally filtered by media, academia, and language, leading to the "privatisation of stress" where systemic failures were reframed as individual responsibilities.
Reagan's influence on American history is substantial. His administration set the stage for continued American interventionism and the framing of international conflicts as moral battles between good and evil, a framework that persisted long after the Cold War.
However, the triumph of this ideology was rooted in the illusion that the collapse of the Soviet Union was solely due to American action, rather than its internal decay, providing the US with decades of geopolitical fumes from this perceived victory.