Dublin book launch and talk
Saturday 31st March 3pm in Filmbase, Curved St, Temple Bar
People Power against the Corporations.
A government by the people for the people is an ideal of Irish politics.. But it is fast disappearing as corporations take more control. They have only one goal-profit-and use the buzz words like "competitiveness" and "flexibility"to make all of society serve it. Major corporations such as Microsoft view Ireland as an Atlantic tax haven which offers light state regulation. They want the country to become a bridgehead for the American way inside the EU.
"The Corporate Take Over of Ireland" examines the effects on Irish life and shows how democratic decision making has been subverted by money.
Efforts to ban advertising to children and to restrict promotion of alcohol have been prevented by large global corporations. A new medical apartheid is being created in health as huge US health corporations stand ready to move into the private health care market. Waste collection is no longer organised as a public service but is being turned into big business. State enterprises such as Aer Lingus and Eircom have been handed over to private investors.
"The Corporate Take Over of Ireland" calls for a new movement of resistance that will put people before profit and bring about more democracy.
Dr Kieran Allen lectures in the Department of Sociology, University College Dublin, and has published widely, including his book "The Celtic Tiger: The Myth of Social Partnership"
Hosted by the Socialist Workers Party