An intellectual movement of the 1970s and 1980s that sought to reformulate the basis of right-wing opposition to social democracy and socialism. New Right thinkers, whose influence was greatest in the USA and the UK, drew in varying proportions upon the ideas of libertarianism and conservatism. The libertarian strain could be seen in their defence of the free market, and their belief that the role of government had been over-extended and now needed to be reduced. This meant, for example, the privatization of firms and industries owned by the state, monetarist policies, and a shift away from the welfare state towards private insurance as a way of coping with ill health and old age. The conservative strain appeared in their strong commitment to law and order, and in their belief that the family unit needed to be strengthened.