Madam, – It is interesting that Niall Coleman (October 28th)avoids the word which most accurately describes his vision of an Ireland with a 30-hour working week and salaries capped at €100,000: socialism. Could that be because socialism is inherently repressive and has been shown to be a failed system time and time again? No matter how eloquently he dresses it up with images of “happier homes; [and] a more stable and vibrant society”, what he is proposing is simply a massive limit on personal freedom.
What right does the State have to tell anyone they may not use their talents, intelligence and ambition to prosper? And to whose benefit is it to limit the pursuance of excellence and achievement? Not a single successful country has restricted personal freedom to the degree Mr Coleman is advocating.
The greatest irony is that, in his world, there would be no one to cover the cost of his dream of a 30-hour week. Doesn’t he realise that to spread the wealth you have to create it first? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The benefits of a 30- hour week were outlined recently in wonderful simplicity by a contributor to your Letters page – a vision for a people who prioritise living in a society rather than an economy; the two are not mutually exclusive.
The prioritisation of economy over society has brought our nation to its current sorry pass. And yet, such arguments, being lucid, logical and fair, will, I fear, for those same reasons have no place in the current decision-making on the financial, economic and social future of Ireland. An opportune time surely, to ask ourselves: Is mise Éire? – Yours, etc,