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mary p murphy and peadar kirby

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35THe crisis in Ireland is just the latest, though the worst, of a series of boom and bust cycles since independence that have marked the history of the frst Irish republic, such as it is. The crisis is an outcome of global neoliberalism, but also of the dysfunctional nature of our jaded political system. economic decisions have always refected the power of vested interests and elites, created clear winners and losers, from gombeens to tigers. we have spe-cialised in unsustainable patterns of development, both socially and environmentally. The pattern of boom and bust is likely to recur unless we funda-mentally redesign the system. we need to build a distribution of power and a style of politics that can lead to a more sustainable and equitable eco-nomic model, working in the long-term interest of people and the environment. one that makes us happy, too.we have options and alternatives as we seek to build a second Irish republic. we can resur-rect the unsustainable ‘neoliberal model’ that has led us into the present deep recession. or, we can break with the past and create ‘a developmental social-democratic model’ with a more sustain-able economy. This would be less deferential to foreign multinationals. It would have more efec-tive mechanisms of redistribution that reverse the deeply entrenched inequalities that blight our society. By suspending pessimism, mediocrity and deluded compromise we can also imagine a very diferent future and establish an ‘ecologi-cal or ethical socialist model’, with less focus on (quantitative) growth and consumption, and more focus on (qualitative) living well.our choices will necessarily be made in the context of globalisation and our membership of the european union. Neoliberal discourse still thrives and prevails in Ireland and abroad. However, lessons from other countries show that, even in crisis, it is possible to shape more equitable and sustainable futures. It is essential, therefore, that those who believe in the necessity of such change work to make credible the viabil-ity of an alternative model.The frst step is to expose the fallacy of the growth model on which neoliberalism depends. But successful exposure would also challenge the developmental social-democratic model espoused by many progressives, social demo-crats and socialists. while a shift from a neoliberal to a developmental model would be a change for the better, it would still be a relatively thin change. It would essentially leave intact the con-tours of the present model: reliance on economic growth, failure to deal with the decline of labour as a share of national income; and consequent deepening of inequality in power and distribution. This model would only involve cosmetic changes environmentally, without signifcant reductions in carbon footprints or the obliteration of fos-sil-fuel dependence. It would fout the scientifc consensus that climate change will have lethal implications for global equity, development and survival.The ecological or ethical socialist model ofers thick change, which fundamentally shifts the focus of growth away from ‘economic’ growth. economic degrowth strategies are based on rec-ognising ecological limits and challenging the traditional spendthrift growth economy. They may promote social and ecological growth. addressing the limits of the ecosystem will require a radically new confguration of social, state and economic power. degrowth will relo-calise economies and embrace renewables. The move to a de-carbonised economy will require the strengthening of state power. social power will be bolstered and the power of the market, so beloved of neoliberals, relegated. It will evolve into new forms of state, and especially social, power.The ecological or ethical socialist model requires direct engagement with power. No longer would economic growth take priority over environmental protection when the two collide; economic power must be forced to live within the limits of sustainability. regulation, in this sense, will be regarded as a liberation, not a subversion.Fournier (2008) argues that this requires a reimagining of our collective economic sense through more robust forms of democracy and cit-izenship to challenge taken-for-granted economic rules. This in turn requires a thick democracy and an active society, an ongoing ‘high-energy democ-racy’ (ungar 2009).an obvious starting point is to make people more aware of the fundamental damage capital-ism is doing to society. Polanyi (2001) originally saw capitalism destroying society by placing a market value on land, labour, and capital – the original fctitious commodities, as he called them. Today, care, love, knowledge and nature itself are all commodifed. The very essence of humanity is monetised and marketised. The next step is to mary p murphy and peadar kirby“We need to affrm and promote values grounded in humanism and the republican ideals of democracy, equality, solidarity, participation, activism, transparency, mutual interdependence and care, ecology and sustainabilityand how is contemporary life for yoU?

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