Youth Not in Revolt? Post-Politics and the Slow Cancellation of the Future
Ireland faces a choice, a tough choice, in this upcoming election: it can have Jack Johnstone or John Jackson, or if the electorate is feeling devilish, John Johnson. Put differently, choices which are merely nominally different, yet substantively the same.
Irish society is plagued by post-political placidness. Not to deny the democratic choice of the nation or to imply virtue in tempestuousness, but this placidness has cultural and societal ramifications for the youth. Its stagnancy has delivered an armada of young Irish lads and lassies to the shores of Brisbane.
That’s not to say we live in a kip, far from it — poverty in Ireland is not having a TV in every bedroom. We broadly enjoy many of the spoils of being a western, wealthy country, but many of us are stuck in a financial purgatory; income is largely adequate due to the plethora of good jobs, but the cost of socialising, rent, a house, or even a coffee, is astronomical.
The issues that the youth and kidults face in this country cannot be placed squarely on the shoulders of politicians — we must face the reality that the onus is on us to speak up, but for many reasons we’re not politically engaged, unless of course there's a foreign war that one can convey their disapproval of via instagram stories. One should not forget the politically engaged unprofessional activists who pen panegyrics in favour of abandoning capitalism or those who believe in some esoteric new regime with Tara as the new capital.
These luxury beliefs will not fix potholes, and my question to those on the left and right with luxury beliefs, what is your position on mayors for towns exceeding 40k in population? What do we do with vacant properties? Should Sundays be a national day of rest? Why channel good energy into useless political hobbyism?
What about the professional non-activists? The 35 year olds living under the tyranny of their parents, who despite their decent big 4 salaries, either live at home or dish out more in rent than what a mortgage costs? Generation rent who missed out on the cheap mortgage boom of the celtic tiger, who are footing the bill for the financial collapse that ensued, why are you not in a political organisation?
I am not saying the youth are politically ignorant, they aren’t, but their political energy is squandered when it's needed most. We have leftists who convey their politics aesthetically through Fontaines D.C and their nonchalant edgy vibe, but it’s ultimately performative. The right may be ecstatic at the prospect of a second Trump presidency, but in reality most would rather read Yukio Mishima’s wiki entry than get out and campaign with a right wing party. Any energy possessed by the under-35 professional class is squandered by remaining absent from participation in politics.
As a nation we personify what Mark Fisher called reflexive impotence, where we see the problems we face but assume ‘it is what it is’ — the ennui we subject ourselves to is partly political, partly personal, but ultimately there is no party or political movement that offers real change, nor will there be one if ideological hobbyism is not abandoned in favour of real politics.
Another issue I see is distraction and division. There are obvious issues we all face. I don’t see any reason why someone on the left can’t be in favour of rethinking immigration. In fact, they are the number one victim of the ills of neo-liberal immigration policies. Nor is it inherently obvious why the right must be prejudicial against cosmopolitanism. The intellectual right and podcaster left alike hold the same political thinkers in high esteem - Mark Fisher, Slavoj Zizek, Jean Baudrillard and Antonio Gramsci. Both sides recognise the alienation and mass neurosis imposed upon us by post-modern capitalist society.
Zoomers, millennials, left and right wingers, a disparate non-uniform group are condemned yet again to another Fianna Fail or Fine Gael led government — we are witnessing the slow cancelation of our futures in an age of diminishing expectations, we have been defeated to such an extent that we sigh before we say “I will probably never own my own home”. But what if the politically engaged and personally outraged agreed on some key issues? Whilst the far right is accused of stoking divisions, divide and conquer is a tactic all-too-often employed by the established parties to ensure the young, who are very partisan, never actually agree on fundamental shared traumas and work together to pressure the political parties to change their policies.
Whatever your perspective, it’s transparent that Ireland is no country for young people. The central cause is hard to summarise in one article, but there is a confluence of variables that are obvious, and it is these obvious factors that zoomers, millennials, leftists and rightists should focus on in unison.
Lets address the obvious and most controversial: immigration, which causes a huge divide between the left and right, and even normal, apolitical people have their take on it. Immigration elicits emotional engagement due to the obvious, there is much emotional investment and often financial investment in it. Emotionally it is conflicting — we all grew up with Central European and African friends, and still retain these friendships. We also need to be conscious of multi-ethnic/multi-racial families, which if advertisements are to be believed, are a large fraction of society, and the often cited culinary addition of other cultures are all very valuable and sentimental aspects of the life of an average Irish person, myself included
However, there is also the reality even immigrants from the 2000s face: rising rents, depleted services, social alienation and a declining standard of living. For the dynamism immigration has brought us, there is also rapidly declining standard of living due to it, and it is this grey, this nuance that should inform the politics of the subject. The open borders and “get them out” activists are only alienating a moderate approach to this issue, making it toxic, a culture war issue, an untouchable subject which the government are only delighted to see as they earmark an unknown village for a new overnight modular shanty town.
“Hmm he mentioned moderate, is he going to suggest we have immigration doing the speed limit?”. No. When I say moderate, what we need is an appreciation for immigrants, it is objectively and statistically the truth that most migrants are decent, sound, and hardworking people who came here for a better future for them and their children. They have functionally contributed more to this country than many Irish have.
Equally, however, we need to face the reality that the quality of immigration to this country has gone down the drain and remigration, pulling out of asylum conventions and deportations need to be not just on the table, but something implemented rapidly. We simply have no need for our housing and services being diminished further in exchange for another vape shop, selling the same products at the same price on the same street as the other five vape shops.
Immigration is often stratified into one singular group, the “foreigners”, and this conglomerates the begging gypsy gang with the taxi driver from Naoribi who brought you home when you were stuck in town. We need to abandon the usage of the term “foreigners” as a monolith. Be specific, are you on about your friend who you forget is from Kenya or are you on about the begging bandits? This matters, separating “the foreigners” who add value to our lives and economy from the net drains is essential to informing policy on the subject — be specific, know your immigrants.
Is that to say we must say no to unproductive immigration? The “bring your toolbox and can do attitude and you’re more than welcome”. No, this approach must also be rejected. This approach is emotionally charged; it is a morally decent position to hold, an act of solidarity with someone just like you, trying to carve out a slice of the pie to happily nibble on and preserve some crumbs for their offspring. However, this proverbial pie is a fallacy, “the growing the pie” argument the left genuflect to is more or less their rendition of the right’s “trickle down economics”, which just like trickle down economics, only it makes sense inside the minds of those who believe in it.
The economy is complex, intricate, hard to convey, like the neuroreceptors operating the body or like the forever in motion Shibuya crossing, the economy is the estuary of our towns, cities and villages and immigration is inseparable from the economy, its ramifications have negatives and positives, but ultimately the benefits of immigration go to capital and the social ills going to labour.
It's the working class that suffer being priced out of the property ladder; it's the working class, irrespective of ethnic heritage, that have to compete in an oversaturated labour market giving the capitalist class the upper hand in pay and work conditions; it's the working class that have to wait a week to see a GP they needed yesterday — the list goes on. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Poland and moved here in 2005 or Irish by ancestry, the current inflow of immigration into this country is ruining it, and unless there is reform, things will only get worse.
Ireland's Republic of Bohemia, or lack there of.
On a matter more relatable and specific to the young, let's talk about our social lives.
A republic of Bohemia is the epicentre of liberal living, the social dynamism infused with run down bars, where aspiring professional artists go to be reinforced in their pursuit of artistic employment, where the tech bros and dole merchants both drink together, where there's graffiti and drug dealers on every corner, narrow streets, smash burger joints, the smell of joints and a rebellious vibe, these are republics of Bohemia, Bricklane in London, Trastevere in Rome, Uzupis in Vilnius and I could go on for eternity with examples, what is Ireland's epicentre of edge?
Ireland does not have a republic of Bohemia, unless, you count... Stoneybatter?
Why is it that Ireland lacks an area dedicated to edgelords? The answer is obvious: we pimped out the city to the globe. What should be the epicentre of edge, Temple Bar or the Liberties, are both painfully lacking in cheaper alternatives to cater to the poorest in society such as the aspiring DJs, thrifters, sanctimonious vector artists and most importantly, students. There is simply nowhere cheap enough to allow for the organic growth of a republic of Bohemia in any of our cities, there are some exceptions, but anyone who has been to Trastevere knows that Galway's Latin Quarter does not make the cut.
It is unlikely me and the average NCAD student will see eye to eye on most issues, barring maybe our love of Fontaines or beach house, but one thing we will certainly be in unison on is our difficult social lives, we are either both priced out of the city because of rent or if living in the city, can’t afford to go out much due to a low paying job and high cost of living. Going out isn’t the greatest luxury to be desired but being denied the option is worse than having no interest in it.
As a case study, to see Fontaines I paid €60 for a ticket. On top of this, I incurred the cost of one night in a mid-hotel, no breakfast, no frills or luxuries - it set me back €200! I know I am not the only one who is suffering this,; the de facto culchie tax to have a night out in the city is scandalous. There are no trains or viable transport at night to service young people’s needs. Of course it would be ridiculous to suggest there should be a night train to Edenderry from Connolly every night, but this clearly indicates the apathy possessed by the governing establishment toward young people misfortunate enough to not own a €500,000 home within the m50 belt.
Its the economy stupid
“Making a speech on economics is a lot like pissing down your leg. It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else” - Lyndon B. Johnstone, former US President.
Am I blaming immigration for paying the culchie tax to see a band? Is Anwar the deliveroo driver to blame? Yes, actually. Dublin is the world's village bicycle, everyone wants a spin, nobody really loves it. What we need to address now is the economy and examine whether we are getting a fair deal in our trade offs.
What we need to recognise is that the story of Dublin is the exact same as Vancouver, Melbourne and Seattle: high incomes, high immigration, high costs of living, housing crisis, tech jobs and a relatively high standard of living, which are positives. But examined from a different light, it’s clear that these cities are ceded to globalism. They are no longer Canadian, American or Australian cities, and not even in a demographic sense, they are alien places to the majority of the country, they are where work and events are, nothing more, just expensive epicentres of commerce. People move to these cities the world over for money and opportunity, but I am skeptical if these cities are really republics of opportunity or just stagnant guarantors of a wage, I do not know of any groundbreaking companies that emanate from the cities mentioned, that is not to deny the quality of the businesses but is the exchange fair? Is ceding Dublin to the globe a fair trade off? Perhaps it once was, we enjoyed the spoils of development, but now we're paying the price, literally, and what have we to show for it? Where is the Irish google? The one massive hit, stripe, are two lads from Limerick.
Instead what we are now getting is an oversaturation of food outlets, vape shops, vintage clothing stores, barbers and other traditional businesses, and it is true, they create jobs, but as the old adage goes, if I pay you to eat s*it, on paper, I created a new business, generated jobs and expanded the tax base, and this is apt for what I am trying to say. Being a deliveroo driver is hard, underpaid and underappreciated, but it is a s*it job, and despite UberEats’ latest ad campaign, the sentimentality of some Mexican cycling the city to deliver a boojum to fund his English course is to me: someone taking essential housing, increasing rents and diminishing resources to add 0 value to the economy, and this is the same for Seattle, Vancouver, Melbourne etc. this constant inflow of low skilled workers is a self fulfilling prophecy as the low skilled beget low quality jobs and the ever expanding labour pool begets low pay, the low pay begets lower quality goods and services which begets lower quality jobs etc, ad infinitum.
“But surely there are benefits?” Yes, there is — see: the Big 4, Google, etc, they all signal confidence in Ireland to the globe, they provide good quality, upwardly mobile jobs, they provide work from home jobs, they cater to a middle class or middle class aspiring demographic who cannot be denied their interests, as ultimately, they constitute a near majority of the nation and these interests must be balanced. The aforementioned Deliveroo driver, whilst an un-glamorous job, it would perfectly suit a native student to get by financially, and I am sure this is the case for many, there's also the jobs generated by all the businesses, which employ a vast multitude, but again, it's the oversaturation that is keeping wages and quality down. We do not need to import more to fill jobs that our own can do, we need to nurture the fragile ecosystem already in place to separate the commercially unviable wastes of resources from the quality, upwardly mobile services who provide a valuable addition to the economy.
We need to be realistic about immigration, we need to assess what will help our economy and what will hurt it. The young have the most investment in this issue as ultimately it is us who have to compete in this market. Do we need more deliveroo drivers? Do we need more vape shops? Do we need more coffee chains that may deliver jobs, but the pay is paltry and the coffee is substandard? I don’t think so.
This is not a republic of opportunity, this is not New York, there is no guarantee you will have a good life here, this is a fragile ecosystem, unlike the Late Late Toy show; when it comes to dishing out the goodies, there is simply not one for everyone in the audience! What we do need is doctors, nurses, teachers and other workers for skills we have a deficit of supply in. If we are going to cede our cities and jack up the cost of living, for the love of God at least let it not be in vain.
What's the solution?
Having outlined and bemoaned in detail what I see is the problem, what are my solutions?
Forget about the niche political hobbyism: if the less mainstream left and right wing joined establishment parties and pushed them from within, that would be more politically expedient than forming 100 new parties. This is not an unheard of strategy, in fact, it’s how politics is done in most of the world. We don’t need a party for every policy. Would it not make sense to push for policies from within the establishment? If one right winger joined YFG or a Leftie joined SF, and pushed for more dissident policies, they have a problem. If 500 joined and collectively pushed for certain policies, then the party has a problem. There is strength in numbers. I mean no offence to the good efforts and tenacity of the smaller parties and the independents, but this is a crisis, we don’t have the time, we don’t even have a watch.
The left and the right need to move beyond the binary of simple minded hostility or positivity toward immigration. A more mature left would recognise the obvious: that immigration is ruining this country; the right will equally need to grow up and recognise that the majority of this nation have emotional investment in people who are not Gaels. We need some immigrants, like nurses and doctors, what we don’t need is Deliveroo drivers.
It must be recognised that many immigrants are Irish, not by heritage but by culture, and we cannot undo nor would we want to undo that. Regarding the new immigrants who are looking for the same quality of life, they need to be told: “no, sorry, this is not worth your time or investment”, and lastly, to play into true right wing crank stereotypes, I see no reason why the immediate deportation of the begging gangs or the end of the shanty towns does not take effect immediately, these are not left or right positions, these are balancing the compassion of humanity with the reality of existence. In regards to asylum as Lee Kuan Yew said, “grow calluses on your heart or else bleed to death” — we need to end the bogus asylum claims, but even genuine cases must be denied. Ireland owes the world nothing, at some point, the conventions on the rights of refugees will end. I do not see why anyone would be in favour of upholding this swindling of Europe out of its quality of life.
What is needed is remigration and the implementation of the imaginary Australian immigration system, (imaginary as it is not as strict as people believe it is) where unless you are absolutely essential to the labour market, you are welcome, what also needs to be considered is the UAE’s policy of allowing workers to enter the country, but not guaranteeing them permanent residency unless they live there for 30 years. This will separate those who truly desire to be Irish from those seeking the economic benefits. If someone has committed to 30 years on the island, they have been here through thick and thin.
If joining an establishment party is out of the question, join the one that is most viable, if you’re too right wing for Fine Gael, join a party further to the right; if you’re too left wing for Sinn Fein, join People Before Profit. Nuclear energy and environmentalism are key bi-partisan issues which the left and right alike are concerned with, and thus realistic springboards for political activism and policy-formation.
Anyone who has made it this far has probably construed that I have some liberal values, so what I am about to say is not me projecting my beliefs:
Leaving the EU is never going to happen.
Banning abortion is never going to happen.
Abandoning the multi-nationals is never going to happen.
There will be capitalism.
Abolishing private property is never going to happen.
The future belongs to those who turn up for it.