The Thatcher-Reagan wavelength

We take a similar view to solving the problems of the economy. It is not surprising because he [Ronald Reagan] believes in sound money, I believe in sound money. He believes in industries being competitive, I believe in them being competitive. He takes the same view about democracy that I do, that it works and functions best when government does not take over too many functions but it leaves the majority in the hands of the people.

He has a similar view to the one which I have taken for a number of years, and he has taken for a number of years, to the fact that the menace to democracy comes from the communist countries. The communist countries deny people fundamental freedoms; because they deny them fundamental freedoms they do not get the economic success which democracies get.

If you look, the shortages of food tend to occur in the communist countries. Poland is short of food. The Soviet Union used to be the granary of the world. Where does it buy some of its wheat from? The free enterprise countries like the United States. The democracies tend to produce food surpluses, the communist countries food shortages.

Communist countries produce wave after wave of refugees as people try to escape from them. The free enterprise democracies do not produce refugees -- they are the places where refugees go.

So we know and fervently believe that our great mission in the world is to try to extend the area to which genuine democracy applies and we know the way in which communism works: once you have got communism, it is the most difficult thing to shake off. We look at the amount which they put to increasing armaments rather than increasing the standard of living of their people, so we know that we always have to keep an eye on defense sufficient to deter. So w e really have an enormous similarity of thought.