When James Connolly died the Irish labour movement died with him. It can be argued that following the sacrifices made in 1916, that Ireland entered a crucial period in its history. As we moved forward two distinct models presented themselves, one of course was Home Rule and the other was to further the aims of the men and women of 1916 and seek an Irish republic.
Had Connolly lived there is little doubt that he would have fought on to achieve the Irish Republic but of course in Connolly’s vision this was to be a 32 county socialist republic. When one revises the history of the period it is little wonder that Irelands possible first leader a committed Marxist was tied to a chair in 1916 and shot---it is important to remind people that at this time Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Europe—and Dublin housed some of the biggest disease infested slums in the World. Connolly and Jim Larkin had led the workers in a vicious fight against the employers during the great lockout of 1913-14, Connolly founder of the Irish citizen army was as they say a marked man.
But what of his ideology can one imagine an Ireland where Connolly’s thesis had risen to the fore—how different a place we would live in now, of course our entire history would be different and if it were not in the light of what is taking place in Ireland today, it would be a fruitless exercise to even consider its implications.
Yet what concerns me as an individual and as a citizen of this state is the roaring question as to why within a supposedly democratic system did Connolly’s doctrine go unheard, or if heard then why unheeded. Historians may point to a very conservative church dominated society the very church who were persecuted in other socialist regimes, is it understandable that the church should have feared talk of equality and the individual taking a stake in the collective?
Again if one uses a casual revisionist approach could there have been any institution more totalitarian than the catholic church alright they didn’t take people out and shoot them [not in Ireland anyway.] but how many people suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of these clerics—to whom the state mindlessly handed over power in areas of health and education and in the area of imprisonment such as in the industrial schools.
Other reasons that Connolly thesis was ignored after his death was the advent of the Irish ruling class. There was always an Irish upper class whom were educated at the best schools either here or in England. These people saw themselves as the natural inheritors of fiscal power--they included both the catholic and protestant ascendency, and were mainly composed of professionals like lawyers and Doctors and medical consultants.
The war of independence made the option of home rule redundant and the watered down version gave us the Anglo Irish Treaty of 1921. As a result this was probably the only time in Irish history that ideology over pragmatism set the agenda---many on the republican side still believed in the all Ireland 32 county socialist republic—but shamefully and with the help and support of their former British masters the free state as it was now called, entered into a bloody civil war—whereby 3000, people were killed. In all wars there are atrocities carried out by all sides—but the systematic executions of over 77-republicans in 1922-23, tells its own tale.
So the new state evolved in the most divisive of circumstance but not on the grounds of ideology –the differences were easily categorised as one side yearning for a united Ireland and the other wanting to go with what was conceded and make a fight for it later—with this simplistic explanation many an Irish child passed through our educational system.
Nobody asked the relevant question what the hell happened to socialism or even social justice, the labour party minus a leader like Connolly became the conscience of the centre right—and Ireland grew as basically a two party state—both with centre right leanings and one which even had some far right elements in the mid – 1930’s.
The modern labour party under Eamonn Gilmore had an opportunity never before trusted on to the Irish left. After the last general election it had won the most seats to Dail Eireann in its history. Faced with a critical choice that was to enter government in coalition with the neoliberal Fine Gael—or align with fellow 'left wing' elected TD,’s and Sinn Féin and form a decent and noisy opposition to the criminal monetarism that is enslaving our citizens. They chose to enter government and I as a committed disciple of social justice wonder why?
Perhaps when we examine the labour party and seek to understand their motives we would best take a long hard look at ourselves. Who votes for labour is it the working person on low income who lives in social housing or who maybe is out of work and is actively seeking same—or is it the retired school teacher who started life modestly but now can sit back each morning with a copy of the Irish Times—and spout armchair socialism to anyone who might listen.
The labour vote has changed, and in essence labour is in fact representing those that voted for them by staying in coalition with the neoliberals. The average labour voter is middle-class or on the fringes of the merchant class—[By class I am not only referring to financial status but even more so to a specific mind-set]these people do not do ideology as they were not raised or educated to do so, they solely exist to maintain an acceptable standard, many of these people did come from humble origins—but it is not out of any loyalty to a miserable childhood that they vote labour over FF OR FG. They vote labour because they see no difference between the three and if there is no ideological difference then the only thing separating them is spin and personality.
We should take a long and hard look at ourselves we the citizen the inheritors of a state that was formed dubiously with outside influence from God knows where—we have arrived at a very difficult place and what we choose to do now, will have a major impact on our children and their children. I am not bowing to economics here but I am pointing to an examination of what it is we are—us the citizens of the Irish Republic what values do we hold—what is it that we cherish, are we willing to sacrifice things to create a more equal society.Are we willing to act like citizens within a state that in its definition is a collective for the common good. Or as this present government insists –are we going to promote individualism—greed, and base our prosperity on the volatility of the market place—the question remains and all that is left is our choice of ideology.
Monday, 16 April 2012
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Enda Kenny's Ghost Writer Lacks Substance
There are some out there that think this government are doing a good job in what are extremely difficult times. These are people to whom the body of politics is still about personalities and localism they have no realisation that due to neoliberalism, politics is now global without personality, and very often devoid of substance.
Enda Kenny is the CEO of Ireland Ink [sic] self appointed I may add, as far as I knew he was Taoiseach of a very small country with around 4.5 million people—I wonder can he do both like be a Taoiseach and a CEO, at he same time. This is where the substance comes in—Enda Kenny has no qualifications or even experience to be CEO, of Ireland Ink, [sic], in fact what is he actually, he is just the leader of Irelands most right wing party- Fine Gael.
Enda is nothing if he is not dapper—he likes to pull up his pants before he sits down, straighten his blazer when he is standing, Enda is a fast walker immaculately groomed his stylists have him looking ten years younger than he is—this is learned political behaviour and learned from you guess where? That is right you are correct! The spin is in the appearance and the substance is unimportant.
Take his interview with Sean O’ Rourke at the weekend—the man is so busy he hasn’t time to make it to the studio to discuss the matters in question regarding Denis O’ Brien—the household tax, and the Fiscal treaty-leave all that to the hacks, this is the CEO-of Ireland Ink [sic] we don’t mix it with the rabble. So Sean respectful of your title O’ Rourke- interviewed the impeccable Enda on his own turf and entirely within the no substance agenda.
Enda of course had a bucket load of excuses about Denis O’ Brien and how he as CEO, of Ireland Ink [sic] wasn’t responsible for who was invited and who was not, he then waffled on about the household tax and the Fiscal treaty and he urged us all to put our differences aside and protect the generations to come by voting yes. On the jobs front he assured us that the entrepreneurs will deliver- and only as they can, the jobs will flow and the people will soon see the promised land. Sean reverential O’ Rourke didn’t ask him a hard question and that was it.
I wonder about all of this, and as I said recently in a tweet, that I always get the impression that Enda Kenny is speaking from a script rather than from the heart. It is like he is possessed by a Ghost writer who in a previous life wrote inspirational verse for gift cards. When one examines what Enda is actually saying, you come up with the awful realisation that he is saying nothing sustainable. His usual rant about entrepreneurs for example –what does this mean? Who are these people he refers to—are they waiting somewhere to be called to action.
Lets examine the substance, the Banks are still operating a credit embargo, and as the CEO admits there has been no progress on upward only rent review reforms. So let’s allow that Enda parts the Irish sea -and the entrepreneurial hordes are set free to create these illusive jobs, the conditions that Enda’s government have set for them are restrictive, and many would be slain and counted as statistics within the first two years, and any jobs created would drown with them. So what has this government achieved—well the austerity measures they introduced have deflated the economy, the measures they have put forward to aid their entrepreneurial crusaders are negligible- so what have we left ,more austerity because the country is spending more than it earns etc.
In summation Enda Kenny’s government should resign—they are a failure of epic proportions, they rely on one single element of economic stimulus that is to attract multi-national investment mainly from you know where? That’s right you have guessed correctly—this whilst providing some jobs only assists our economy rather than allows it to flourish.
Enda is redundant on plans outside of his Ghost writers brief—as leader of this state and not Ireland Ink [sick] he should be aggressively introducing action by the state in areas of job creation using the state owned sector in areas like forestry, fishing, agriculture and our natural resources, to assist in the growth of this economy.
State is the collective of all of us citizens—right now we need a CEO—like we need kick in the face, what we need is leadership-not lazy scripted words devoid of substance.
Enda Kenny is the CEO of Ireland Ink [sic] self appointed I may add, as far as I knew he was Taoiseach of a very small country with around 4.5 million people—I wonder can he do both like be a Taoiseach and a CEO, at he same time. This is where the substance comes in—Enda Kenny has no qualifications or even experience to be CEO, of Ireland Ink, [sic], in fact what is he actually, he is just the leader of Irelands most right wing party- Fine Gael.
Enda is nothing if he is not dapper—he likes to pull up his pants before he sits down, straighten his blazer when he is standing, Enda is a fast walker immaculately groomed his stylists have him looking ten years younger than he is—this is learned political behaviour and learned from you guess where? That is right you are correct! The spin is in the appearance and the substance is unimportant.
Take his interview with Sean O’ Rourke at the weekend—the man is so busy he hasn’t time to make it to the studio to discuss the matters in question regarding Denis O’ Brien—the household tax, and the Fiscal treaty-leave all that to the hacks, this is the CEO-of Ireland Ink [sic] we don’t mix it with the rabble. So Sean respectful of your title O’ Rourke- interviewed the impeccable Enda on his own turf and entirely within the no substance agenda.
Enda of course had a bucket load of excuses about Denis O’ Brien and how he as CEO, of Ireland Ink [sic] wasn’t responsible for who was invited and who was not, he then waffled on about the household tax and the Fiscal treaty and he urged us all to put our differences aside and protect the generations to come by voting yes. On the jobs front he assured us that the entrepreneurs will deliver- and only as they can, the jobs will flow and the people will soon see the promised land. Sean reverential O’ Rourke didn’t ask him a hard question and that was it.
I wonder about all of this, and as I said recently in a tweet, that I always get the impression that Enda Kenny is speaking from a script rather than from the heart. It is like he is possessed by a Ghost writer who in a previous life wrote inspirational verse for gift cards. When one examines what Enda is actually saying, you come up with the awful realisation that he is saying nothing sustainable. His usual rant about entrepreneurs for example –what does this mean? Who are these people he refers to—are they waiting somewhere to be called to action.
Lets examine the substance, the Banks are still operating a credit embargo, and as the CEO admits there has been no progress on upward only rent review reforms. So let’s allow that Enda parts the Irish sea -and the entrepreneurial hordes are set free to create these illusive jobs, the conditions that Enda’s government have set for them are restrictive, and many would be slain and counted as statistics within the first two years, and any jobs created would drown with them. So what has this government achieved—well the austerity measures they introduced have deflated the economy, the measures they have put forward to aid their entrepreneurial crusaders are negligible- so what have we left ,more austerity because the country is spending more than it earns etc.
In summation Enda Kenny’s government should resign—they are a failure of epic proportions, they rely on one single element of economic stimulus that is to attract multi-national investment mainly from you know where? That’s right you have guessed correctly—this whilst providing some jobs only assists our economy rather than allows it to flourish.
Enda is redundant on plans outside of his Ghost writers brief—as leader of this state and not Ireland Ink [sick] he should be aggressively introducing action by the state in areas of job creation using the state owned sector in areas like forestry, fishing, agriculture and our natural resources, to assist in the growth of this economy.
State is the collective of all of us citizens—right now we need a CEO—like we need kick in the face, what we need is leadership-not lazy scripted words devoid of substance.
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