David Dimbleby recalls the turmoil of 1974: inflation surging, the government battling trade unions over pay, and an economy thrown into chaos by a sudden global oil crisis.
Power cuts were common – we would be plunged into darkness without warning. And seemingly, the government just expected us to deal with it.”
It was in this climate that Dimbleby began presenting Panorama, engaging with a range of opinions on how to navigate the crisis. Some even suggested extreme measures: “There were even suggestions that what the country really needed to take back control from the unions was a military takeover – a coup.”
Yet another idea emerged, one so radical that even its champion, Keith Joseph, seemed exasperated by its unfamiliarity. “That idea was the free market.”
From Radical to Reality
The notion of relinquishing government control over the economy in favor of unregulated markets was a departure from the postwar consensus. “If, in 2025, the idea sounds anything but radical, that’s exactly the point.”
Margaret Thatcher’s government embraced this transformation with remarkable speed in the 1980s. What was once unthinkable became the norm:
We take it for granted that private companies play a pivotal role in providing our water, electricity, gas, railways, ports and freight.”
The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984 signaled a new era. “The next morning, the numbers were staggering: more than two million Britons were now BT shareholders.” As more industries were sold off, the Thatcher government was no longer just breaking state control—it was reshaping the public’s relationship with capitalism. “
By the end of the 1980s, the scale of transformation was staggering. The sum of £60bn was raised by selling off state-run companies. Up to 15 million Britons were now shareholders.”
The Consequences of the Free Market Revolution
Despite Thatcher’s vision of mass shareholder capitalism, concerns quickly emerged. Businessman James Goldsmith was once a beneficiary of free-market policies but later warned of their long-term dangers.
You get to a system whereby, to get the best corporate profits, you have to leave your own country.”
Goldsmith foresaw a world where corporations, in pursuit of profit, would sever ties with their domestic workforce.
You have to say to your own sales force ‘Goodbye, we can’t use you anymore – you’re too expensive.’”
His prediction materialized. “Today, the UK may be a global leader in science and financial services but is that of much consolation to communities where we once made things that are now made offshore?”
When Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016, it was precisely those communities—those who felt abandoned by globalisation—that led the charge.
The Leave vote was highest in those left-behind communities, seemingly fuelled by those who felt globalisation was not working for them.”
The Unexpected Challenge from the Right
Goldsmith’s warning—that the free market system left its own people vulnerable—found an unlikely new champion. “Now, there is someone else much more powerful who takes that view.”
Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman, has seemingly turned against the very system that enabled his fortune. “President Trump’s methods are so erratic that with him it’s hard to tell what is going on.”
Yet his policies signal a return to an economic model that predates the free market era. “He is trying to make America strong through protectionism, making it harder for anyone to simply sell anywhere.”
Tariffs, a staple of early economic history, have made a comeback. “Trump is just trying to return the US to how things were, albeit in quite a chaotic way.”
The Future of the Free Market
“The reign of the free market is facing its biggest ever challenge. But that challenge is coming not from supporters of socialism… Instead, the challenge is coming from Trump, a man who is broadly speaking of the right and has no qualms with capitalism allowing people to become very rich.”
That the threat comes from within makes it all the more significant. “That the challenge is coming from within is what makes it so potent.”
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