Thursday, May 7, 2009

In tonight's programme

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THURSDAY 7 MAY - 22.30 GMT - BBC TWO
PRESENTER GAVIN ESLER

Hello,

TELL US WHICH YEAR YOU WOULD CHOOSE

So, which is it for you? 1979 or 1989?

Twenty years ago, in 1989, the Cold War finally came to an end, the Berlin Wall came down and - for a while at least - it seemed Western liberal democracy and the kind of economic theories put in to practice by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher had triumphed as the 20th Century drew to a close.

There are those who think that 1989, therefore, was perhaps the most significant year of change since the end of World War II.

But there are those of us who think another year demands more attention - 1979. That was the year of the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. That was the year Mrs Thatcher was first elected and Jimmy Carter looked weakest, leading to the 12 Reagan-Bush years.

So which is it for you? Which of those two years was more important in your life? The one which ended the chapter of the Cold War? Or the year which saw the birth of neo-liberalism in the West - and Islamism in the Middle East?

Go to our website now and click on the 1979 versus 1989 link to tell us your view.

And join us at 10.30pm tonight on BBC Two, where we'll be discussing 79 vs 89 with among others Simon Schama, Francis Fukuyama and Lord Lawson.

Join us at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

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