A message for Leo
Madam Editor, It is entirely natural and normal that elevation of Leo Varadkar to leadership of Fine Gael and Taoiseach of this country should be a time of optimism and hope. The democratic process works, perhaps not entirely flawlessly some might argue, but without social upheaval or strife power passes seamlessly to a new generation whose legitimacy and authority will be acknowledged and accepted by the vast majority of Irish people. Furthermore the early 21st century has cause to be regarded as the very best and most optimist period the human race ever experienced with potential for human existence to be enhanced far beyond anything previously thought possible. It is such a pity therefore that unease, insecurity, dissent, extremism, terror and an outside possibility of ultimate nuclear conflict increasingly stalks the earth with danger of turning the very best time into the worst. The human race appears incapable of recognizing, appreciating or coping with its ability to produce and deliver practically everything it needs or desires in great abundance thereby greatly reducing the requirement to continually increase output as would be so necessary in times of shortage. The real cherry on the cake is that all this is achieved while at the same time reducing the requirement for human beings to work very hard or long or be enslaved and abused by the incessant never ending need to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. The stern and very real warnings of “work or die” and “work will make you free” are no more. Wonderful and ever improving technology of automation and robotics has set the human race free to do better things and regardless of what historical propaganda said, there are better things to do than work. The only fly in the ointment is that to date, history has depended on the need to constantly produce more and to work hard to provided employment; the only avenue for most human beings to have a role in economic activity and earn a living. Another road to sufficient employment must be found. Sadly it appears Leo Varadkar together with his Ministers are all faithfully married to the concept of restoring the old order of continual increasing output, growth and sufficient work to sustain relatively full employment. The fools, the fools, the fools; they are greatly deluded. They do not know technology or the enormous power and change it has wrought on functioning economics which is the prerequisite to sustaining communal cohesion, democratic politics, social order and civilization itself. Bill Clinton hit the nail on the head when he famously quipped “it’s the economy stupid” during a Presidential winning debate several decades ago. It is still the economy Mr Varadkar but a very different technological economy from the historical one which you and so many others try to reinstate. We live in a successful, optimist and improving world but we need entirely new political and economic thinking to keep it so. I wish you well Mr Varadkar and I dearly wish you would start thinking differently.
Padraic Neary, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo