Reflections on the Irish State

by Garret FitzGerald

In recent years Ireland has experienced rapid change, economically, politically, socially and constitutionally, yet until now there has been no sustained multi-disciplinary study of these critically inter-linked spheres. In this new groundbreaking book, written for the non-specialist reader, former Taoiseach or Prime Minister (1981-1982, 1982-1987) Dr Garret FitzGerald reflects on the fundamental changes that have occurred and on their far-reaching consequences. Examining the forces that have drawn almost all Irish political parties to a common centre, the book questions the rationale and relevance of the current party political structure, and delves into the ever controversial area of ethics in politics. In the economic sphere the book discusses, among other issues, the profound impact of demographic change on Ireland's economic performance, and considers the social and psychological consequences of the rapid rise in average living standards, as well as the problem of reconciling a low tax regime with infra-structural improvement and fairer income distribution. The book also touches on the decline of religion as a moral force with the radicalisation of traditional society, and gives detailed consideration to the shifting ground occupied by Irish Nationalism in the era of the Belfast Agreement, the political rise of Sinn F���©in, and growing European integration. Dr FitzGerald's humanity, wit and erudition have come together here to produce a classic.

Genres: Politics

202 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Garret FitzGerald was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office (July 1981 to February 1982; December 1982 to March 1987). FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He served as Foreign Affairs Minister from 1973 to 1977. FitzGerald was the leader of Fine Gael between 1977 and 1987.

Reviews

[John Turlockton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to recommend this to anyone. He gives a few of his thoughts on various topics, however the book is basically useless as an intellectual piece because it provides almost no sources for its claims. He is also, as he himself states in the beginning, not an expert in any of these fields, so it'd better to just get a book on these topics by an actual expert rather than a former Taoiseach. The only interesting parts, which are very small, are the parts when he gives his personal reflections or experiences as a politician and as Taoiseach, this is mostly in the introduction and the chapters on the EU and Northern Ireland, even within these chapters it's a fairly small part. If someone is reading the book for that reason, it might be better to get his autobiography.

In the part on demography he goes through the old Catholic and conservative chestnut that increasing freedom for women and people generally to choose their life path and their romantic relationships is somehow bad, or might even lead to the extinction of the human race. Despite the facts that, at 7bn people, expected to peak at 10bn, the human race is under no threat whatsoever of extinction, the human race does lots of damage to the environment and a few less of us would be no harm, and that fertility can increase as well as decrease (which, in the hindsight of 2019, is already happening in some countries).

It's also poorly written, being very dense with statistics, which are usually written out in plain text rather than a more sensible depiction like a graph. He also doesn't clearly make his point, he just lists a load of statistics and alludes to the point without laying it out clearly, which hinders comprehension. And thirdly, his sentences can run on for a long time, with single sentences often taking up entire paragraphs. I figured out as a teenager how this was a bad idea, how it leads to confusion and meandering points, and it's still a bad idea now, including from an ex-Taoiseach.

That said, it's interesting enough to read about these topics and consider them, and they might be a step-off point for further reading on a topic, even if it's not a serious academic work.