Stuart Hall’s 1979 essay “The Great Moving Right Show” is a landmark political analysis that sought to explain the rising tide of conservatism in Britain during the late 1970s, especially the emergence of Thatcherism. Rather than treating it as a simple shift in party power, Hall presents it as a profound transformation of political culture, ideology, and consent—what Gramsci would call the formation of a new “historic bloc.”
Crisis and Conjuncture
Hall begins by framing the shift to the Right as a response to a deeper organic crisis in British society, not just a cyclical change in political fortunes. This crisis—marked by economic decline, industrial stagnation, and the erosion of postwar social democratic consensus—had structural roots but also profound ideological dimensions. Thatcherism, he argues, was not simply a reactionary swing, but a new project that sought to redefine national identity, class relations, and the role of the state.
Thatcherism as Authoritarian Populism
A central concept in Hall’s essay is authoritarian populism. Unlike classical fascism, it retains democratic forms while reconfiguring consent through nationalist, moralist, and market-oriented rhetoric. Thatcherism mobilized public anxieties—around crime, race, national decline, and welfare dependency—into a cohesive common-sense worldview that combined neoliberal economics with a tough moral discourse.
From Economic Recession to Ideological Revolution
Hall shows how the Right succeeded in turning economic crises into opportunities for ideological transformation. While the Left remained stuck in old categories and assumptions, the Right told a compelling story: blaming welfare dependency, immigration, and trade unions for national decline. Through emotional appeals—like the image of the welfare “scrounger” or the “enemy within”—Thatcherism displaced structural explanations in favor of moral and populist ones.
The Role of the State and the Media
Thatcherism’s genius, Hall argues, was its ability to recast the state from benevolent protector to meddlesome enemy, thus justifying cuts to public services under the guise of restoring “freedom.” This ideological pivot was bolstered by the media, particularly the tabloid press, which played a pivotal role in constructing a populist common sense around law, order, and market values.
Hegemony and the New Historic Bloc
Using Gramsci’s theory, Hall explains how Thatcherism created a new hegemonic project that brought together segments of the ruling class and working class in a reconfigured alliance. This alliance was not based on economic interest alone, but on a re-articulation of values, national identity, and fear. The Right redefined “the people” as aligned with capitalist interests, masking contradictions through an emotionally resonant discourse.
The Left’s Strategic Failures
Hall is critical of the British Left’s failure to engage with this new ideological terrain. He argues that many on the Left clung to economistic or abstract frameworks, missing the cultural and political shifts unfolding before them. Revolutionary optimism and dismissals of Thatcherism as merely reactionary mistakes blinded many to the depth of the change underway.
