An Introduction to the Irish Economy - Draft Outline for a Pilot Course for Activists
[This is the proposal for the pilot course as it stands today - hoping to refine and refocus it over the coming weeks, but this is the base of it here.
If the pilot course is successful, and there is sufficient interest within the organised trade union movement to continue with the course, then I'd see the introduction of an unwaged rate as well. But, all of that is contingent on whether such a course is viable as a going concern. More on that below.]
Introduction to the Irish Economy, 1922-2012 : A Course for Activists
Course Tutor: Conor McCabe, M.Litt; Ph.D
Date: March 2012
Venue and time: TEEU offices, Gardiner Row, 6pm to 7.30pm
Cost: €50
The purpose of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the development of the Irish economy from 1922 to the present day, as well as the dynamics which influence its current operation.
Put as concisely as possible, the type of business activities which dominated the Irish economy in the twentieth century - cattle exports to Britain and financial investment in London; the development of green-field sites and the construction of factories and office buildings to facilitate foreign industrial and commercial investment; the birth of the suburbs and subsequent housing booms predicated on expanding urban workforce - saw the development of an indigenous moneyed class based around cattle, construction and banking.
These sectional interests were able to control successive government policy, much to the detriment of the rest of the economy. In 2008 the speculative and banking sectors of that class closed ranks in order to protect themselves from oblivion, resulting in the bank guarantee and the creation of the National Assets Management Agency.
Since 2008 government policy has continued with this policy of protecting the speculative and financial sectors, while the rest of Irish society struggles on, its taxes used to pay the bonds of private banks.
By focusing on the way the Irish economy actually works, on the type of jobs which people hold, and the wages they earn, the economic myths and half-truths expressed through public discourse reveal themselves for what they are: excuses for maintaing a discourse that has failed.
The course will consist of one class a week for five weeks, with each class of 90 minutes duration. At the end of each class there will be a reading assignment which will form the basis of the following week’s discussion.
These sectional interests were able to control successive government policy, much to the detriment of the rest of the economy. In 2008 the speculative and banking sectors of that class closed ranks in order to protect themselves from oblivion, resulting in the bank guarantee and the creation of the National Assets Management Agency.
Since 2008 government policy has continued with this policy of protecting the speculative and financial sectors, while the rest of Irish society struggles on, its taxes used to pay the bonds of private banks.
By focusing on the way the Irish economy actually works, on the type of jobs which people hold, and the wages they earn, the economic myths and half-truths expressed through public discourse reveal themselves for what they are: excuses for maintaing a discourse that has failed.
The course will consist of one class a week for five weeks, with each class of 90 minutes duration. At the end of each class there will be a reading assignment which will form the basis of the following week’s discussion.
Week One – The development of the Irish economy 1922-2008
Reading: Paul Rouse, ‘Introduction’, Ireland’s Own Soil: Government and Agriculture in Ireland, 1945-1965 (Dublin, 2000)
Week Two – Land, Property, Housing and Speculation
Reading: ‘Housing’, Sins of the Father ; Ruth McManus, ‘Blue Collars, “Red Forts” and Green Fields: Working-Class Housing in Ireland in the Twentieth Century’, International Labor and Working Class History; Committee on the Price of Building Land, Report to the Minister for Local Government (1974)
Week Three – Currency, Finance and Banking
Reading: Gibson, N.J., ‘The Banking System,’ in Norman J. Gobson and John E. Spenser (eds.), Economic Activity in Ireland: A Study of Two Open Economies (Dublin, 1977) Simon Carswell, Something Rotten: Irish Banking Scandals (Dublin, 2006)
Week Four – Industry, Jobs, Tax and Foreign Investment
Reading: Robert Allen & Tara Jones, Guests of the Nation: People of Ireland Versus the Multinationals (London, 1990); National Economic and Social Council, A Review of Industrial Policy: A report prepared by the Telesis Consultancy Group (Dubin, 1983)
Week Five – The Irish Economy Today
Reading: ‘From Bank Guarantee to Bailout’, Sins of the Father; Richard Murphy, Pot of Gold or Fools Gold? (ICTUNI, 2011)
At the end of the course the participants will be asked to research an aspect of the Irish economy which they find interesting - either its historical development or its present reality - and to present their findings in a short essay.
It is only when we have to explain something that we really get to understand it, and the purpose of the essay is to facilitate that understanding through a written presentation.
The essays will also serve to add to the body of analysis of the Irish economy from a worker/trade union perspective. It is hoped that the student essays which are of sufficient quality in terms of insight and analysis could go forward for publication, either in an end-of-year journal or in one of the progressive magazines and newspapers already in print.
Discussion
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Comment by: ragman
Jan 16th 2012 at 23:01
sounds very worthwhile. the more skill and knowledge shared outside the ´mainstream´ education system/murder machine the better. Looks like theres plenty in it and its good that there is potential to publish essays etc. which gives activists the confidence to write and express themselves which can only be a good thing. best of luck with this
Comment by: Ian
Jan 17th 2012 at 11:01
Is this only for trade union activist?
Comment by: Conor McCabe
Jan 18th 2012 at 01:01
Hi Ian,
no. The aim is to provide the course for trade union, political and community activists. The pilot class will be aimed primarily at trade unionists, but that’s only the pilot class. If the pilot is successful, then additional classes will be scheduled.
The classes wont start until March at the earliest, and details regarding the course will be posted on Irish Left Review as soon as they are finalized.