Archive for November, 2001

Economic fundamentalism is alive and well in Ireland.

Every day, as evidence of the hard landing mounts, a soothing spin is being manufactured which dismisses worries about the economy. The spin contends that a slump is unlikely here because the economic fundamentals are very strong. Let’s call the subscribers to this creed the ‘fundamentalists’.

When I was a kid there were only three types of football fans where we lived: Leeds fans, Man U fans and Liverpool fans. Okay, so there were a couple of Chelsea and Gunners supporters, but they were only mid-table FA cup teams and really didn’t matter.

While cloaking itself in the language of economics, it is in fact anti-economic, anti-modern and regressive. Some would go so far as to suggest that economic fundamentalism seeks to reverse all the gains made by the profession since the great depression.