When will Labour learn that you cannot build Jerusalem in Brussels.
Margaret ThatcherRead
The West as a whole in the early 1990s become obsessed with a 'peace dividend' that would be spent over and over again on any number of soft-hearted and sometimes soft-headed causes. Politicians forget that the only real peace dividend is peace.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Real peace cannot be bought or spent; it must be cultivated and maintained.
Margaret Thatcher’s quote highlights the misconception that peace can be treated as a commodity to be spent or invested in various causes. Instead, she argues that true peace is an ongoing state that requires constant effort and commitment, rather than a mere benefit to be traded for temporary gains in other areas.
Themes
PeacePoliticsDividendCausesEffort
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on international relations, one could quote Thatcher to emphasize that lasting peace requires dedication beyond monetary spending.
More from Margaret Thatcher
All quotes →Never in the history of human credit has so much been owed.
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The battle for women's rights has been largely won.
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Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.
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Israel must never be expected to jeopardize her security: if she was ever foolish enough to do so, and then suffered for it, the backlash against both honest brokers and Palestinians would be immense - 'land for peace' must also bring peace.
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If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.
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