"That’s never been how Irish politics has worked though; it’s historically been transactional, local and patronage-based. Someone once, I think accurately, said Irish politics comes down to 'let me see if I can fix that for you.' That hasn’t really changed."
Ha ha, this makes Ireland sound like Afghanistan. I intend it as a compliment. Neither country much enjoys being occupied by a foreign power.
There are politicians here and there depending on the issue, but the issue is people in at a high level in mainstream parties pushing back in a systematic way - that’s what’s missing really
Thanks for the reply. I expected that would be the response. It seems to me there should be space for politicians to say "I am not going to align with contemporary progressive values because they're largely unserious, but that doesn't mean I favor discrimination or intolerance. I live my The Golden Rule, and that should be enough."
But even if Irish politics *were* a conservative-vs-progressive culture war, the progressive side isn't ascendant in either Britain or America. It controls the means of sociocultural production and is more popular than ever among the upper-middle-classes, but political control is slipping away from it and its opponents are now trying to work out how dismantle the progressive bloboplex.
"That’s never been how Irish politics has worked though; it’s historically been transactional, local and patronage-based. Someone once, I think accurately, said Irish politics comes down to 'let me see if I can fix that for you.' That hasn’t really changed."
Ha ha, this makes Ireland sound like Afghanistan. I intend it as a compliment. Neither country much enjoys being occupied by a foreign power.
Question from an American reader: is there any Irish politician or organization willing to push back against American cultural leftism?
There are politicians here and there depending on the issue, but the issue is people in at a high level in mainstream parties pushing back in a systematic way - that’s what’s missing really
So no, to answer your q. Not on cultural issues.
Thanks for the reply. I expected that would be the response. It seems to me there should be space for politicians to say "I am not going to align with contemporary progressive values because they're largely unserious, but that doesn't mean I favor discrimination or intolerance. I live my The Golden Rule, and that should be enough."
Maybe I'm naive though.
But even if Irish politics *were* a conservative-vs-progressive culture war, the progressive side isn't ascendant in either Britain or America. It controls the means of sociocultural production and is more popular than ever among the upper-middle-classes, but political control is slipping away from it and its opponents are now trying to work out how dismantle the progressive bloboplex.