TINA: There Is No Alternative
Categories: Marketing
What do the names Margaret and TINA have in common? They were both a big deal in Great Britain during the ‘80s, and we’re going to tell you why. “TINA” stands for “There Is No Alternative,” and in the 1980s, British PM Margaret Thatcher was a big fan of saying TINA to free-market capitalism. No need to discuss any other options, because democracy and open markets are endgame.
PM Thatcher didn’t start the whole TINA thing; she just made it hip (especially once the Soviet Union and other non-capitalist, non-democratic countries began to collapse and seemingly backed up her point). It all started with 19th-century economist Herbert Spencer, who often told people “there is no alternative” to laissez-faire economics and its accoutrements.
Today, we hear TINA used more often in the investment world than we do in the political one. Brokers and investors will often throw out a TINA or two when faced with investment alternatives that are worse or no better than the mediocre investment they’ve already got. In this case, it’s less saying, “This is the greatest thing ever, case closed,” than it is saying, “All of it’s pretty dumb, so there’s no clear-cut best choice.”
