On 11/9/2010 10:13 AM, cmk1 at eircom.net wrote:
> Secondly, the deep psychological pull of Irish self-congratulation has served to undermine resistance. During the 'Celtic Tiger' our politicians, and certain well-to-do social strata, made a habit of lecturing Europeans about the wonders of our economic 'model' (if you could call it that). Our neo-liberals in government, media, academia and, yes, the trade unions scoffed at Social Democratic Europe and its 'rigidities' and inflexible labour markets. It was 'Boston v. Berlin'; we were going to emulate Boston and 'Berlin' could go f**k itself. This notwithstanding, Social Democratic Europe was transferring billions into the Irish economy every year for most of the 1990's. That contempt percolated through Irish society to the extent that verminous scumbags like Ryanair's Michael O'Leary acquired iconic status among some workers as exemplars of the new deregulated, go-getting, non-nosense Irish capitalism.
>
> The flip side of this self-congratulation can be seen by the contempt with which the Irish establishment, and not a few workers, hold the striking Greeks and French and their resistance. We now congratulate ourselves for not being 'childish', 'emotional' and 'irresponsible' in our response to austerity. We're more 'mature' and open to 'compromise'. This has led our Minister of Finance to boast that measures can be implemented in Ireland that would inconceivable in France or other European countries.That we're on the cusp of a catastrophic debt default matters not a whit for the time being. I dislike the term 'false consciousness' but it seems apt in this context.
Interesting stuff.
SA