Fintan O'Toole on Irish Culture

‘We don’t believe enough in the future not to stuff ourselves with what’s in front of us now’: "We’ve outsourced our sense of control to a domineering church, to national elites and then to global “forces” – the market gods that we propitiate with sacrifices. And over time, we’ve come to feel comfortable with this lack of responsibility: just look at the pitiful way we welcomed the troika to make decisions for us, and at the political chaos that has followed its partial departure. The corollary of getting used to being told what to do is that you gorge yourself when no one’s there to stop you.
Which comes first? Is the lack of self-control the product or the creator of a malfunctioning public culture? Most probably the two are so intertwined the distinction between cause and effect is lost. But if they are so deeply connected, we need to find a way of making that connection in public discourse. The State is never going to get anywhere preaching to its citizens about responsibility, self-control and the need to think about the future when these are, to the State itself, alien concepts."



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