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The Celtic Tiger Pros And Cons

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Kieran Allen’s opening line, ‘Ireland was supposed to be different’ (p. 1), sets the tone for this book. The Celtic Tiger offers a different perspective to the conventional analyses of the Irish economy. The first part of the book assesses the causes and consequences of the Celtic Tiger; the inequality and acute problems in the provision of public services, particularly in health and education. Allen makes much of the fact that the Celtic Tiger occurred in two phases. The first phase was initiated by foreign investment, low corporation tax and a highly skilled English-speaking workforce. The success of this first phase gave way to the second phase which is encapsulated by the increase in the financial sector and of course the property and construction …show more content…

Unfortunately this is not the case with this book. Instead Allen merely offers a verbose and indistinct analysis of these issues of inadequate public services, class polarization and political corruption. Allen’s does however offer a unique interpretation of these issues. Much of Allen’s critique is congruent with the politics of the Socialist Worker organization. Unsurprisingly, his argument does not stand on either analytical or theoretical ground. This book will find its way to readers with little or no real knowledge or of socialism and it may awaken some realisation that there is an alternative to the capitalist solutions presented in response to the economic crisis. All of which involve Irish workers paying for it. Allen has already decided that social partnership signifies a camouflage for the exploitation of Irish workers, and his conclusions on the subject are not informed by reasoned evaluation of relevant evidence, or the assessment of strategic choices made under constraints. Because he has already made up his mind Allen seems it unnecessary to use hard evidence or other literature on comparative political economy analysing the Celtic Tiger and the years that followed. As a result of this Allen’s arguments can only be seen as an ideological commitment to a Marxist analysis. He clearly thinks that capitalism is unfair, which is a valid point of view, but Allen tries to simply undermine the market economy every chance he gets. His position gives the impression that nothing can change until everything has changed significantly. Allen advocates an imminent revolutionary approach to the competitive behaviour of the economy. Allen’s strongest argument in the book has demonstrated that Irish workers are dependent on

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