Against Irish Democracy
“See when the washing, when all the dirty linen is washed, we’ll see when the clothes are hanging out the line a good summer’s day like today, they’ll be very well stained. And need the washing machine and dazz or whatever they call it, [that] they use now, I don’t know what they’ve more to ran away from dazz, I’m not saying I’m a bad house homemaker now that I don’t do some washing but I’m not up to speed and in the capsules that go in, the type of them that go into the washing machine but it used to be, it used to be surf and dazz when I was [teen ?] … the Ceann Comhairle, will remember that as well but we have a lot of cleaning up to do so this Bill is not fit for purpose” – Representative Mattie McGrath on the floor of the Dáil on the Planning and Development (amendment) (No.2) Bill 2022
The debate around democracy and parliamentarianism in Gaelic thought begins and ends with satire. Pairlement Chloinne Tomáis attacks parliamentarianism as the enterprise of social climbers who forsook the traditional Gaelic order in favour of an Anglo and materialist worldview. Notably Book 2 mocks the parliamentarians who embrace everything foreign:
"More power to you, Cromwell, you king in rustics' chronicles, during your reign we got peace, honey, cream and honour"
Since then, democracy has become a good in itself. Democracy is not assessed on its output. But rather as a transcendent principle in and of itself. The argument is that even if a less democratic system could provide for better outcomes, Democracy as a moral value is more important than the material gains of a more efficient, successful system.
This claim of the moral importance of democracy is deeply misguided. It would be a miscarriage of justice if an individual was convicted by a jury who were misinformed, ill-informed or lacked the capacity to make a verdict on a case. However, democracy sentences the country to be beholden to an electorate that largely lack the facilities to make proper decisions. Even with the broadening in the accessibility of education, the number of individuals that are misinformed about politics has only grown.
Attempts by modern western democracies to counter these issues have exposed the incompatibility of liberalism and democracy. The recent introduction of the DSA and the Media Commission to regulate social media in the name of preventing the spread of disinformation has only served to limit people’s right to access information. The incoming Hate Speech Bill serves as another side of the coin whereby individuals are having their right to freedom of Speech limited.
As seen with the recent women’s referendums, the Government is one of the most active spreaders of disinformation, being repeatedly reprimanded by the electoral commission. This has been coupled with years of back sliding on individual rights and freedoms. Democratic Government shut down the economy for two years, individuals had their rights to bodily autonomy infringed through covid restrictions, banning minority groups from going to gyms, hairdressers, and pubs.
The moral guise that democracy has given to the actions of the state has facilitated a tyranny of the masses, whereby minority groups have their rights and freedom’s restricted by the state.
The state actively spreading misinformation to maintain a democratic mandate is only made worse by the fact that most Irish media receives funding from the state. Insofar as media is intendent, it facilitates the ascent of an oligarchy – one that’s deeply susceptible to foreign influence.
This shadow ruling class cannot be held responsible for the decisions they make because their rule is done through the proxy of politicians. Guilt is then directed at the electorate, the Irish people, weakening the nation by creating “Us” V.s. “Them” tribalism. Individuals identify with abstractions such as “Fine Gaeler” or “Fianna Fáiler” rather than with the nation.
These are artificial divisions that have only been intensified by the Irish media, as they’ve picked apart every part of Irish identity since the 60s. Which brings into question whether or not an Irish democracy is even possible, given that the concept of an “Irish Demos” has been completely torn apart. This is a situation only made worse by the ease at which the state hands out Citizenship and the rapid influx of immigrants in recent years. Furthermore, The collapse of the Catholic Church has also removed any moral consensus which would bind the nation together.
In turn, Democracy has become completely dependent on homogeneity. But even more so – the homogeneity of mediocrity. What has emerged in Ireland is an abased form Government and a debased society, incapable of producing great culture. Nietzsche argued that life is justified as an aesthetic phenomenon. However, democracy has forced our culture to stagnate, and so our lives have become less meaningful.
As Nietzsche said:
"Future Europeans will be exceedingly garrulous and impotent and eminently employable workers who will fuel the need for masters and commanders like they need their daily bread. The democratisation of Europe in affect amounts to the creation of type prepared for slavery.”