Todays Sunday Independant gives a worrying outlook for the future, namely that, given the present economic turmoil, we are heading back to socialism as a cure for our problems.
The article itself can be seen at:
You have been warned: the future is socialism - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie
This prediction with scare the st1te out of many of old enough to remember the economic stagnation of the 70's and 80's when business and entrepreneurship was strangled by crippling taxes and duties, over regulation and general government interference in the private sector.
The reasons cited by the article for a return to socialism are:
- the lack of regulation of the banking sector during the property bubble and current perceived need for increased regulation throughout the economy
- the increased power of government shown by saving the economy and the banking sector
- the acceptance of the need for higher taxes including property taxes to repair the damage caused by past mistakes
- the increased power and authority of the trade union movement
Given that we were rescued from the stagnation of the 80's by indigenous entrepreneurship, deregulation, lower taxes and subsequently by foreign direct investment, and that our future prosperity will derive from similar means, the question is are we going back to socialism and has the wheel turned full circle? Its beginning to look like that and that a few years of socialist 'pennance' is ahead of us to pay for our past sins...
Any thoughts.....

back?????? When were we socialist? I think your confusing increased govt involvement in the economy with socialism

Sure it's grand so long as you like living in a communal car with a nationalised dog, dining on spouts and beans and wearing hemp trousers.

Seriously though, no, I don't think we are. We're not a country of idealogical followings, we're just centrists with everybody who espouses a political mantra hanging out on the fringe. Two examples of which would be Boyd-Barret and Richard Greene.

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Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.

- Niccolò Machiavelli

Read that article, sounded like Eoghan Harris wrote it even though Jody Corcoran is name on it.
As for socialism, lets see how socialist party does in next GE, I cant see the loony Claire Daly getting elected but Joe Higgins might by manipulating the working class and uneducated like he always does.

Now is the time for a real socialist alternative because the derugulation of the free market brought us to where we are now, and what's worse where we will be in a year's time.

Bobert

I think you are right that we are centrists but the ideological centre is moving left because, as Jonathan Kay put it, of "a housing debacle that demonstrated that middle-class homeowners are too stupid to manage something as basic as a monthly household budget, just as Wall Street's brain trust is too dumb to operate an unregulated financial market."

Reagan and Thatcher said people can spend their own money more wisely than governments can. People have proven to be just as wasteful and debt-prone as governments.

So now governments are going to take our money again and waste it themselves.

Not sure about Socialism, but De-regulation is dead, and Globalisation is teetering on the brink (listen to Sarko and Obama). De-regulation has been proven to be a failure not just in Banking, but in numerous other sectors. It simply promotes greed and irresponsibility, it rapes the earths resources and environment and it impoverishes the weak. Globalisation is its bast@rd child.

When the scions of Irish Business cannot regulate themselves, what hope for the rest of the pack?

Goodbye to all that. And good riddance.

I agree with the assesment. But disagree with the reasons behind it.

I'd certainly agree with Thatcher and Reagan in saying that people can spend their money better then governments. Just look at the follies we have in this country. The Dail Sweet Shop is just one of many examples of fiscal stupidity of government. Likewise the European Parliament recently voted to give themselves a €9,000,000 health and fitness facility. But the levels of hedonism we witnessed here during the boom showed that, as a country we are still very stupid with money. We will continue to go from boom to bust but will gradually become smarter as we experince these.

__________________
Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.

- Niccolò Machiavelli

We have never had real capitalism in this country.We have the government regulating and taxing left ,right and center.It was the failure of the ECB and Government regulation that got us into this mess.

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The trifling economy of paper, as a cheaper medium, or its convenience for transmission, weighs nothing in opposition to the advantages of the precious metals... it is liable to be abused, has been, is, and forever will be abused, in every country in which it is permitted." --Thomas Jefferson to John W. Eppes, 1813.

everyone wants Socialism when they have nothing