The Celtic Tiger? Pic: Tambako the Jaguar

As you know, we at the Celtic Myth Podshow, try and avoid any particular political and/or religious stance - our main sphere of interest is in the Ancient Celts. Where did they come from? Where did they go and what traces of them are left today? We found this following commentary by George Monbiot in the Guardian.co.uk newspaper website, and the political questions he asks bear a direct relationship to the religious, archaeological, and traditions/heritage of the Ancient and modern Celts in Ireland.The economical growth that Ireland has seen has been called the ‘Celtic Tiger‘. He looks at the economical growth over the past 60 years and asks the question: how much of this is real?I do not understand the politics involved, I do not understand the choices that have been made or are available to be made - politics has never been my strong suit – I only understand the destruction that the Sacred Landscape in Erin has suffered.

This post is for those who do understand such things and are in positions where they have the power to help preserve the land and traditions of the Ancient Celts, that precious Irish heritage that is genuinely so important to our global Celtic heritage as well as the Irish tourism industry.

George goes on to say:

How much of this is real? How much of the economic growth of the past 60 years? Of the wealth and comfort, the salaries and pensions that older people accept as normal, even necessary? How much of it is an illusion, created by levels of borrowing – financial and ecological – that cannot be sustained? Go to Ireland and you’ll see that even bricks and mortar are a mirage: the marvels of the new economy, built on debt, stand empty and worthless.

To sustain the illusion, we have inflicted more damage since 1950 to the planet’s living systems than we achieved in the preceding 100,000 years. The damage will last for centuries; the benefits might not see out the year. Ireland, again, points a withered finger at the future.

Among other iniquities, the government forced a motorway through the Gabhra Valley, part of a site – the Hill of Tara complex – comparable in its importance to Stonehenge. It was both an act of wilful vandalism and a notice of intent: no consideration would impede the economic miracle. The road hadn’t opened before the miracle collapsed.

Once our needs had been met, continued economic growth did most people few favours. During the second half of the growth frenzy, unemployment rose, inequality rose, social mobility declined, the poor lost amenities (such as housing) while the rich enhanced theirs. In 2004, at the height of the longest boom the UK has ever experienced, the Nuffield Foundation published this extraordinary finding:

“Rises in mental health problems seem to be associated with improvements in economic conditions.”

Now, bar the shouting, it’s over. Last week the Wall Street consultant Nouriel Roubini, one of the few who predicted the financial crash, spelt out the fix we’re in. Governments cannot afford to bail out the banks again. Quantitative easing can no longer help, nor can currency depreciation. Italy and Spain will be forced, in effect, to default, and Germany won’t pay out any more. The successful capitalist reached this striking conclusion:

“Karl Marx, it seems, was partly right in arguing that globalisation, financial intermediation run amok, and redistribution of income and wealth from labour to capital could lead capitalism to self-destruct.”

The Solution?

The most hopeful sign that politicians might now be prepared to ask the big questions was the presence, in Ed Miliband’s pile of holiday reading, of Prof Tim Jackson’s book Prosperity Without Growth. It’s a revolutionary text, now two years old, whose time has come.

But how do you escape from growth without tanking the economy – and our prosperity? Under the current system, you can’t: when growth stops, it collapses. So Jackson has begun developing a macroeconomic model which would allow economic output to be stabilised. He experiments with raising the ratio of investment to consumption, changing the nature and conditions of investment and shifting the balance from private to public spending, while staying within tight constraints on the use of resources. He finds that the redistribution of both income and employment (through shorter working hours) is essential to the project. So is re-regulation of the banks, enhanced taxation of resources and pollution and measures to discourage manic consumption, such as tighter restrictions on advertising.

His system is not wholly different to today’s: people will still spend and save, companies will still produce goods and services, governments will still raise taxes and spend money. It requires more government intervention than we’re used to; but so does every option we face from now on, especially if we try to sustain the growth illusion. The results, though, are radically different: a stable, growthless economy which avoids both financial and ecological collapse.

From now on, as the old dream dies, nothing is straightforward. But at least we have the beginning of a plan.
Read the full article on the Guardian website at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/22/economic-growth-environment

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