Myth: "Thatcher said 'there is no such thing as society'"
The Myth
Thatcher believed in pure individualism and said there is no such thing as society, meaning she didn't believe people should help each other.
The Facts
This quote from a 1987 Woman's Own interview is regularly taken out of context. The full quote shows she was arguing against people expecting 'the government' to solve all problems rather than taking personal responsibility. She actually said: 'There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first.' She was making a point about personal and community responsibility, not advocating for pure selfishness.