1964_Seeking a National Purpose, Garret Fitzgerald

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SEEKING A NATIONALPURPOSE

GARRET FITZGERALD

'WHAT ort of Ireland do we want to see here in tenyears' time?' asked the Editor of Studies in the Summer1963 issue.' To this question he sought an answer fromhis readers, or at any rate contributions towards ananswer. None has yet appeared, and it would be apity if a promising discussion on a topic of fundamentalconcern to all our people failed to get off the ground.In the hope of provoking further discussion this contribution is offered: it is not so much an attempt ata direct answer to the Editor's question, as an effortto examine some of the ideas and ideals that mightusefully be borne in mind in seeking to blueprint thefuture of our society.That agreement on the future shape of our societypresupposes a measure of prior agreement on principlesis self-evident; the Editor in his own preliminary contribution sketched some of the areas in which suchagreement might be sought. The urgent need to developan agreed philosophy for social action is perhaps greaterin Ireland today than at any earlier time. Irish peopletoday are not the inheritors of a single, clear-cuttraditional national philosophy that could serve as atouchstone by which to judge proposals affecting thefuture of our society.The most profound influence on our thoughts andlives is the Christian tradition which has been such acentral feature of Irish culture for fifteen centuries.Besides this major influence on our lives we havealso inherited a number of other streams of thought,all of which have some place in our minds but havenot been sorted out nor fused into a coherent andinternally consistent philosophy. The more important

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of these influences are the rural peasant tradition, the republicanpolitical tradition, the Irish language movement, the Protestant AngloIrish tradition, English liberal ideas and socialist thought. There areother influences such as the Ulster Scots Presbyterian tradition whichhas pre-eminent importance in one corner of Ireland, but they havenot contributed as notably to the main stream of ideas.Influences on Our ThoughtWhat is meant here by such phrases as 'streams of thought' or'traditions' These phrases refer to influences on our thinking whichin some measure determine our reactions to events or situations. Letme give some examples. Faced with a choice between giving priorityto agriculture or industry in some practical respect, many Irish peoplewith no direct interest in the land will instinctively select agricultureas the more important or more worthwhile. In doing so they show thestrength of the rural peasant tradition which in this and other ways(e.g. the predominantly male-orientated character of our society remains a potent force even in Irish urban life. Again, most peoplehave a sentimental regard for the Irish language-a regard which,up to now at any rate, has survived all the incidental irritations of therevival movement. Similarly the republican tradition is still a strongenough force to ensure that many people would be somewhat reluctantto inform the police about I.R.A. activities that came to their notice-although, viewed objectively, such activities involving the raisingof private armies are treasonable. At another level the general ac300tance in Ireland of the rightness of redistributive measures bygovernments and of the desirability of social security measures clearlyowes much to the influence of liberal and socialist thinking which,in a modified form, now commands a wide measure of general supportin Ireland.

It is perhaps unnecessary to illustrate the influence of the Christiantradition on our lives. The sharing of a com600 code of values bythe whole community-Catholic and Protestant alike-adds a dimension to Irish life which is not to be found in more mixed societies.Our personal behaviour, whether or not it is better than in othercountries, is distinguished by the almost universal ac300tance ofstandardsof behaviour: the clear recognition of departures from thesestandards marks us out from other societies which have moved furtheraway from their Christian traditions.

Belief in an after-life has a profound affect on our attitude to lifeand death. Perhaps our less than passionate concern for social reformowes something to a confused feeling that evils in this life will be338 STUDIES


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evened up in the next; more positively it produces also a more balanced and mature attitude to personal tribulations and saves us fromthe sense of emptiness and purposelessnessof other more materialisticsocieties.From the Christian tradition we must continue to draw not onlya sense of purpose but also a firm hold on the principles of faith andmorals which are not to be minimized or played down in any misguided effort to reach a spurious accommodation with agnostic thought;the rejection of indifferentism, as distinct from toleration; the rejection of atheist and agnostic views while ac300ting the right ofindividual agnostics and atheists to an equal place in a society thatmust be designed to accommodate all men of good will; emphasis onthe role of the family in society-and not mere lip-service to it, as istoo often the case for example in educational matters; and ac300tanceof the need to protect the young against exploitation by pornography.The particular form of expression of these basic principles in aparticular country at a particular time may sometimes cloud andconfuse the Christian witness. And just as modern ecumenism hasshown how aspects of Protestant theology can help Catholics to securea clearer insight into the spiritual truths of Christianity, so also inthe sphere of social thought, liberal and socialist ideas can help usto an insight into the social philosophy of Christianity. The analogyis a fair one, for just as Protestantism drew its main inspiration fromthe early Church, so also liberal and socialist ideas owe a very largepart of their inspiration to the mainstream of the Christian tradition.Thus from liberalism we can draw an emphasis on the positiverather than the negative elements in society: a desire to minimizeunnecessary restraints on human behaviour which reduce the rangeof personal moral action; a sense of tolerance which owes much toChristian charity; the democratic ideal, finding its expression in theseislands in parliamentary democracy; a burning desire to reform evilsin society; the 'divine dissatisfaction' with things as they are thatmakes society a healthier place; an inclination, as President Kennedysuggested, to ask 'why not' rather than 'why'?; an urge to publicize

evils requiring attention rather than to hush them up; ac300tance ofchange and a determination to make the best of it; encouragementto people, and above all to young people, to think for themselvesrather than to ac300t what is handed to them; and the maintenanceof the principle of separation of Church and State which in recentdecades has come to be recognized within the Catholic Church asredounding to the benefit of the Church as a whole.From the socialist tradition we can acquire a sense of the interWinter 1964 339


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dependence of human beings, which is in har600y with the con300tof the mystical body of Christ; a rejection of selfish individualism;a true discernment for the corrupting power of riches; an understandingof the role of the community in modern life, and of the increased'socialization' of society to which Pope John drew attention; and ahigh regard for distributive justice.If we can successfullygraft ithese iberal and socialist ideas, themselveslargely Christian in their origin and inspiration, on to the particularform in which the Christian tradition displays itself in our countryin this generation, we may succeed in developing an internally consistent philosophy of our own, appropriate to the needs of ithe timesin which we live, and clearly superior to the excessive conservatismsometimes found in Catholic attitudes, as well as to the wishy-washyliberalism com600 in Britain, and the doctrinaire socialism of othercountries. In that event instead of the inferiority complex and defensive

attitude which are all too com600 a600gst us as things stand atpresent, we could become self-confident and missionary in our spirit,convinced of the rightness of our fusion of these different sets of ideas,and inspired to spread this synthesis abroad.Diversity of Intellectual InheritanceThe contrast between the actuality of our present intellectual andphilosophical position and its potential is dramatic. At the presenttime the richness of our inheritance is little more than a source ofconfusion to us. Different people in whom different traditions predominate find themselves unable to come to terms with each other,because they start from totally divergent premises-and things aremade worse by the fact that each tends to arrogate to his particulartradition the epithet 'Irish'-thus creating a confusing conflict ofexclusivities.

Moreover even within the same individual, the conflict of traditionsis operating all the time, to his own personal confusion-and thatof any people he may meet from outside Ireland. An 'average'Irishmanwho believes in parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech, andtolerance (a'l'Anglaise will com600ly also believe in the desirabilityof a measure of authoritarianism in religion, censorship of books andfilms, and the religious schools system. To the English observer, lackingany knowledge of the Catholic tradition, this appears as a particularlynefarious form of double-think, and he suspects the honesty and integrity of the Irishman who adopts attitudes that appear to him to bemutually exclusive on these issues.

But it is not the confusion or even contempt of the outside observer340 STUDIES


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that is the real disadvantage of this situation, but the sense of mentaluncertainty which the holder of such an unintegrated philosophy mayfeel himself, especially when challenged on the philosophic basis forhis attitudes. Thus whereas the richness of our traditions provides uswith a unique wealth of ideas and ideals on which 1tobuild our ownway of thought, in practice, as we have made no effort to constructsuch an integrated philosophy, we simply confuse ourselves and everyone else with our apparently irrational reactions to different stimuli.Yet the combination of our reactions to these different types ofsituations or different social and moral issues represents the specificallyIrish philosophy of life. No other people shares quite the same background as ours-indeed the complexity of our traditions is itself veryunusual and gives our society a peculiar quality of its own. This isparticularly evident to English people visiting Ireland whose understandable ignorance of the complexity of our background makes thevariety of our reactions to different stimuli appear quaint and unpredictable; in some matters we react as an ordinary Englishmanwould, in many others our reactions are wildly divergent from his.Now this richness of tradition is one of our greatest nationalresources. We have inherited so much that is worthwhile from somany different sources (as well as much that is second-rate that wehave a unique opportunity to select from this vast experience themakings of a philosophy that could not alone provide us with asatisfying way of life but could also enable us to make a worthwhilecontribution to the rest of the world.

How could we set about the task of constructing such an integratedIrish philosophy of life Which of the many bricks available wouldwe select for the foundations of such a philosophyIf we are to answer this question fruitfully we must distinguishbetween the intellectual content of a philosophy of life and itsemotional background. So far as the latter is concerned, part of theinspiration for our system of ideas must come from those traditionswhich are native and unique to Ireland. From the rural peasanttradition we must continue to draw that sense of the importance ofthe individual which-as the Editor pointed out in his article eighteen600ths ago-is first a600g the human qualities of our people. Fromthe Gaelic cultural tradition we must draw an understanding of thepast of our people, which without the Irish language would becomea closed book to most of us. From the republican tradition we mustdraw, a600g other things, that sense of self-reliance that first gavesignificance to 'Sinn Fein' before these words became debased intoa badge of isolationism.Winter 1964 341


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These native traditions have a vitally important emotional role toplay in our future development, for it is on sources like these thatwe must draw for much of the inspiration to thought and action inthe years ahead. Unless our society is proud of its origins, and feelsclosely linked with its past, it might develop a rootlessnesswhich couldbe inimical to the establishment of any stable society. Already thereare signs of weakness here, for the narrowness of the 'national ideals'handed down from these traditions in their latter-day manifestationshas provoked a negative reaction on the part of many people-clearlyvisible in the hostility provoked, for example, by the advocates of'essential Irish'. However liberal and genuine may be the motivationof many of those who thus reject the intolerance and totalitarianattitudes that is found a600g the language revivalists and in therepublican movement, it is unhealthy that nationalist attitudes whichat least have roots in a form of patriotism should provoke such anegative reaction, and one cannot be happy about the association ofsuch negative attitudes in some people with an unthinking'modernism' that rejects everything Irish as provincial and backward.

One would hope that as the stupidities which give rise to thesenegative reactions gradually die away, a healthier and more positiverelationship between Irish people and their history will developthat will recreate the links with the past that have been weakenedby the events of the past forty-odd years. But whether or not wesucceed in developing such a relationship and in deriving a morepositive inspiration from our past than is com600ly the case today,the fact will remain that for principles of action we must look to moreuniversal philosophies and wider traditions-first of all to the Christiantradition from which we derive the basic structure of our thought,and then to such traditions as those of British liberalism, whoseemphasis on tolerance provides a new insight into the meaning ofChristian charity, and to the socialist tradition which has helped todevelop the sense of social consciousness inherent in Christian thoughtbut which has been overlaid at some periods by over-emphasison theindividual and the family at the expense of society.

How best to combine our basic Christian philosophy of life withthe socialist and liberal traditions is the challenge now facing us.This is a challenge which because of our history is posed to us in aunique way, and to which we have an opportunity of finding an answerthat will not come so easily to other peoples a600g most of whomone or other of these three elements is either absent, or at any ratemuch less active. In a sense it does not matter greatly how preciselywe fuse these traditions together, so long as we remain faithful to342 STUDIES


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and succeed in reconciling the main features of these differenttraditions. But it is important that we should achieve some synthesisthat is internally consistent and valid, both for our own peace of mindand for necessary growth in our own self-confidence, and also for thebenefit of those outside Ireland to whom our synthesis might havesome abiding value. It is deplorable that many Irish people, facedwith a challenge to their system of belief from people brought up ina dominant liberal tradition, should feel unsure of themselves andunable to defend convincingly a basically Christian philosophy witha particular combination of liberal and socialist ideas which hascome to gain a loose but unintegrated ac300tance a600g many of ourpeople.Inadequacies of Catholic Social Teaching in IrelandWhat we are concerned with here is the place of man in society.The Christian tradition has emphasized the importance of the humanpersonality and of the family in society, and has tended to be somewhat suspicious of the State, partly for philosophical reasons, butpartly also for institutional reasons, seeing the State as a rival claimanton man's allegiance. This Christian tradition has been deeply informedby the con300t of the natural law which has often been misunderstood.The con300t of the natural law is one that is becoming increasinglyrich in meaning as sociological studies reveal to us the nature ofsociety and man's relationship with his fellow-man in society. To givebut one example, the growing understanding of the extent to whichparental inadequacies-and above all broken homes-contribute notjust to juvenile delinquency but to unhappiness and instability a600gyoung people-is providing a striking vindication of the insight oftraditional Christian teaching in regard to the natural law in so faras it concerns 600ogamy and relations between the sexes.It is in this area that the liberal tradition is seen at its weakest andmost anarchic, and the fact that so many sociologists are steepedin this tradition is one of the principal weaknesses of sociologicalstudies today. Faced with a conflict between his liberal precon300tionsand the evidence of man's nature revealed by his studies, the modernagnostic sociologist is disorientated and often fails to come properlyto grips with his subject. At the same time the over-theoreticalapproachof many clerical sociologists has diverted their attention from studyingactual social situations in the light of the unique insight into man'srole in society which they have available to. them through thetraditional Christian teaching in regard to the natural law. In anumber of respects this teaching may be said to have anticipatedmodern sociology by many centuries. Here is a field in which we inWinter 1964 343


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Ireland are uniquely well-placed to make a contribution, by fusingthese two traditions which are so much present in our lives, livingas we do in a Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic countrywithin the sphere of influence of English liberal thought. It is opento us, more than to most peoples, to gain a new insight into thecon300t of the natural law by participating in the empirical studiesinto man's relationship with society which have been fostered withinthe English liberal tradition, while at the same time contributing tothese studies something of the understanding of human nature whichwe have gained from the Christian tradition and its inherently wiseand balanced view of human nature.

A fostering of sociological studies may at first sight appear an oddapproach to the problem of creating a valid and specifically Irishphilosophy of life, but the fact is that it is in this area that we are atpresent most inadequate, while at the same time having the greatestpotentialities. If we fail through studies of this kind, a600g others,to synthesize the Christian, liberal and socialist traditions into a systemof thought that is internally consistent and suited to the needs of oursociety, this society may flounder under the pressure of the contradictions within itself flowing from the pressure of these different ideas.If, for example, the liberal Irish Catholic were to find that his instinctive ac300tance of the rightness of much of liberal and socialistthought was in conflict with a prevailing version of the teaching ofthe Catholic Church in Ireland and its particular interpretation ofsome of the doctrines of Christianity, he might eventually lose faithin himself as well, perhaps, as in Christianity.In criticizing aspects of Catholic social teaching in Ireland it isonly fair to observe that in many respects the Catholic Church inIreland has been socially advanced. It has tended to sympathize morewith the workers than with the employers, and in the countrysidehas actively, and at times aggressively, championed the rights of thesmall farmer. Unlike some other countries, Ireland has not sufferedfrom an identification of the Church with the property-owning classes-a fate from which it was luckily saved by the Protestant Ascendancyin the days of the penal laws.It must also be said that in certain respects the political thinkingof the Church in Ireland has been ahead of that of other countriesas is evidenced by our Constitution which represented a break-throughfrom the traditional Catholic con300t of a very close Church-Staterelationship. The separation of Church and State that was formallyenunciated in the 17 Constitution has been a headline for the Churchin other countries.344 STUDIES


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Nevertheless in some respects the thinking of the Catholic Churchin Ireland has lagged far behind Catholic thought elswhere. Thishas been particularly notable in relation to such matters as socialwelfare. One cannot resist the conclusion that in the 1930's and 1940'Sthe Irish Church took a wrong turning in its thinking on these matters.Why this should have happened can only be a subject of speculation.Perhaps it derived from an over-ready association of socialist ideaswith Communism, perhaps from the fact that the world had beenconfronted with a totalitarian menace that had distorted many people'sview of the State, perhaps from an institutional slowness on the partof the Irish Church to come to grips with modern society.It says much for the great strength of Irish Catholicism-despiteall the valid criticisms that have been levelled against some of its aspects-that the Irish Catholic laity met and overcame the difficulties thuscreated for them without wavering for a moment in their devotion

to the fundamental teachings of their religion or their loyalty to theChurch, and indeed to its pastors, even where these latter may insome respects have failed to serve them adequately. The accommodation which many of the Catholic laity have reached between thetraditional anti-socialist views of many of their clergy and what theyhave instinctively felt to be valid aspects of modern liberalism andsocialism is, to be sure, highly empirical and often less than selfconfident. It needs-as it is the purpose of this article to insist-atheoretical framework to support its empirical conclusions. But themanner in which the good points of modern liberal and socialistthought have been instinctively fitted into the basic framework ofChristian thought in Ireland by people concerned only to find empirical solutions to specific problems has been so remarkable that oneis tempted to suggest that a good start has already been made, inadvertently and unconsciously, on the road to the evolution of an Irishsynthesis of these streams of thought.Emerging Social PhilosophyWhat are the characteristics of the solution towards which theinspired pragmatism of our people-politicians, administrators andmen of affairs-is at present pointing

First of all, there is a firm grasp of the fact that society must evolveto meet the needs of its members. This has led to the development ofa system of social security which despite many glaring deficiencies represents a genuine attempt to fulfil some of the more basic needs andobligations of a modern society. Again, despite excessive fears concerning the extension of State activity, there has developed in Ireland aWinter 1964 345


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network of State enterprises and activities appropriate to the requirements of a modern developing economy. No serious gaps now remainto be filled by the State, although its activities still require to beintensified and rendered more effective in many respects.Secondly, although Irish Churchmen have not always recognized the

actual application in practice of the principles of subsidiarity in socialaffairs, there has in fact grown up in Ireland in recent years a systemof consultation and decision-making which, while far from ideal insome respects, nevertheless is making an important contribution to thecreation of an internally balanced society. Not alone has the State keptpace with the development of subsidiary institutions, but it has in largemeasure fostered their emergence and has started consulting them inmany instances before these bodies have had much to contribute-thusspeeding up their development. Commissionsof Enquiry-a traditionalmethod of decentralizing decision-making and ensuring that executiveand legislative decisions are in accord with the general trend of publicopinion-have been supplemented by a wide range of consultativebodies, many of them, like the Committee on Industrial Organization,the Irish National Productivity Committee and the National IndustrialEconomical Council, comprising representatives of unions, employersand civil servants.

To the extent that this proliferation of consultations has strengthenedthe power of the civil service, and weakened the authority of parliament, it may be deplored. But the consultations themselves are a gooddevelopment, and any weakness in the new system-which in itspresent form represents almost a vocational-bureaucratic system ofgovernment-should be remedied by strengthening and improvingparliament and its operation, rather than by weakening this new development which is fundamentally healthy and democratic, and hasgrown up as a pragmatic response to the needs of government inmodern society.

The further development of our society along these lines of government by consultation and consent is faced with one important obstacle.This new type of democratic society can work effectively only if allconcerned are persuaded that society is being organized in the interestsof all, and not for the benefit of a minority. It is far from clear thatthis conviction yet exists a600g the mass of our people, despite theevident goodwill and good intentions of so many of those involved inour public affairs and in this process of decentralized decision-making.Here the great obstacle is the wage-relationship and the traditionalantipathy of interests between the employer and worker, and perhapseven more important between the propertied man and the man de346 STUDIES


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pendent on his earned income. In Ireland this antipathy is not, perhaps,as strong as elsewhere. We are spared the class bitterness which is afeature, for example, of British society. But if class bitterness is largelyabsent, confidence between the classes is not present. Very manyworking-people still view the rest of the community as 'Them', lumpingtogether the Government, the civil service and the propertied classesas a loose conspiracy against their interests. Even more marked is thepetty-bourgeois bitterness against the workers-which finds all toofrequent expression in criticism of the unions and of the indisciplineof workers. If there is any bitterness in the Irish class conflict, it is 'tobe found a600g this group rather than on the other side of the classbarrier.Despite its traditional sympathy with the underdog-the smallfarmer or the exploited worker-the contribution of the Irish Churchto the debate on property has not always been a happy one. The em

phasis placed on the rights of private property and the all-too-frequentand often irrelevant denunciations of Communism, socialism and anyother '-isms' that might threaten rights of property has tended tostrengthen the 'gombeen mentality' of some of the bourgeoisie, investing it at times with a spurious religious significance. At the same timethe efforts of the workers to improve their lot, while viewed withsympathy by many of the clergy, have at times been unfairly brandedas socialist or worse.This is another area in which our social philosophy has much to

learn from non-Catholic sources. It is all very well to insist upon theright to own private property-which no one in this all-too-bourgeoisisland challenges-but it would be even more appropriate to emphasizethe corrupting power of property whose effects are at time glaringlyevident a600g our farming community and a600g the middle classes.The land-hunger of the Irish countryside, which still breaks out fromtime to time in local 'land wars', and which often divides members ofthe same family against each other, has its explanation, but not itsjustification, in the history of the nineteenth century. The same cannotbe said for the devotion of the merchant families of many Irish townsto the accumulation of wealth, or to the growing preoccupation ofpeople in many walks of life with the ups and downs of the stockmarket. Beside these materialistic preoccupations even the bitterestmembers of the working-classes-and surprisingly few are bitterappear in a favourable light, while the anxiety of many people withlimited means to 'keep up with the Joneses' seems pathetic rather thanblameworthy when contrasted with the grosser materialism of someof their better-off brethren.Winter 1964 347


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The right to ownership of some private property is unchallengeableindeed even in Communist societies it is conceded in practice. It ispointless to waste time asserting this right, when all the abuses ofproperty-ownershipremain to be challenged and fought. It would bemore in accord with the basic tenets of Christianity, and well in accordwith socialist thought, that we should instead think in terms of theduties of property-ownership,and its responsibilities. For example, wemight usefully pay more attention to such moral questions as the natureof ownership of shares in a modern business enterprise which so oftencarries with it no responsibility whatever for the management of thebusiness or the conditions of employment of the workers, but whichentitles their owner to a share in the profits. Is the shareholder in anyproper sense an 'owner' of such a business, or is he merely a lender of600ey to it on preferential terms And if so, is it in the public interestthat he should be entitled to an unrestricted return on his loan Is itpossible that the medieval Church, puzzled as it was about the problemof usury in a period when economic knowledge was extremely limited,nevertheless had an insight into the question of interest payments thatour more sophisticated society has yet to achieve Again, how desirableis it that children should inherit large fortunes from their parents-asdistinct from modest competences Is it good for society, or for thechildren

These are the kinds of problems that we could usefully study, seeking to evolve a social philosophy that would be true to Christianprinciples and would at the same time seek to extract all that is goodfrom the insights of socialist thought. When separated from thematerialistic view of life that mars them, these true insights oftenserve as a corrective to certain emphases that have been over-stressedin the development of Christian teaching.

These issues have been deliberately posed in theoretical terms. Onecould list almost endlessly the social reforms that need to be tackled,the practical problems that have to be solved. But we are too empiricalin our approach to problems, fearful, perhaps, of involvement in ideological controversy such as that which divided the country over theMother and Child scheme in 1951 We cannot without serious costcontinue indefinitely to avoid these issues, working from problem toproblem, without ever deciding what guiding principles we are tryingto follow. A people needs not only to act rightly, but also to know howit is right to act.In attempting to formulate a workable Irish social philosophy wemust, however, face up to and take full account of the weaknesses andstrengths of our society as it has evolved up to the present time. Thus

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we must be conscious of the fact that the pressures against any form ofcultural formation in Ireland are powerful. The strong anti-culturalbias of a large part of the community which finds its reflection evena600g some members of the teaching profession; the cramming andexamination system; the pervasive emphasis on sport-for which theclergy through their influence in the secondaryschools and in organizations like the G.A.A. bear some responsibility-all of these are formidable obstacles to overcome. How can we pretend to equal, much lessto lead other countries if we cannot eradicate the anti-intellectual, anticultural attitude of mind that is so com600 in our country Thisattitude finds expression in the flagrant pressure towards conformismin the schools, the discouragement of original thought or effort, thecult of the second-rate, the recurrent disregard for and instinct todestroy things of beauty. There is indeed much here to be deploredand to be eliminated: the gross materialism of part of the propertyowning bourgeoisie; the elevation of sport and drink to leading rolesin society; the weakness of some aspects of family life in what is still amale-dominated society; the lack of any adequate appreciation of thepublic as against the private or national interest.

There is also another side to our way of life: the sense of theimportance of the individual as a person and the strong sense of community; the deeply-held religious and moral attitudes that provide sucha firm basis for society; the richness and diversity of our inheritance;the growing social conscience of professional people and of the newmanagement class which might ultimately spread to the propertyowning bourgeoisie. On these positive features of our society we canbuild, confident that these are fundamental, whereas most of theunpleasant features are accidental and capable of being remedied.Irish Society of the FutureWhat kind of a society might one hope to see emerging if thesepositive features could be developed and the undesirable aspects ofIrish life could be lessened considerably Though one personal answerto this question may have no particular validity, it may help to focusattention on the problems involved in bringing such a society intobeing.

First of all, this society would be firmly and unequivocally Christianin its inspiration. The experiences of other countries are sufficientwarning as to the ill-effects of banishing religion into the churches.But this Christian society would have firm roots in the different Christian churches, above all in Catholicism as the religion of the majoritywhich has played a unique part in forming the Irish character. AWinter 1964 349


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wishy-washy undenominationalism, such as prevails in the Britisheducational system, is a hopeless basis for society.This society would be specifically Irish in its inspiration, proud of itsorigins and determined that the culture and way of life in Irelandshould have a high reputation in the world. This Irish culture woulddraw on the mixed origins of our society, Gaelic, Anglo-Irish, UlsterScots and English, and would be neither exclusive nor sectional. Itwould glory in our mixed inheritance, despising none of it and elevating no part to a position of pre-eminence over the rest.In such a society narrowness and intolerance would be regarded asvices meriting social disapproval. Bigotry in any form would not betolerated; sectarian organizations dedicated to promoting the personaltemporal interests of members of particular religions would be universally frowned upon.Relations between North and South would be based on wholeheartedac300tance of the principle that political unity must be preceded by aunity of hearts; the Government of Northern Ireland as a provincialadministration of the United Kingdom would meanwhile receive theunequivocal recognition that is its due.In the social sphere the obligations of man to his fellow-man wouldbe recognized as a fundamental fact of social life: provision for socialwelfare as the first duty of a community to its citizens. Property wouldbe a trust to be guarded and justified: the accumulation and handingon of great wealth would be seen as a social evil tending to corruptalike those who accumulate and those who inherit. The role of theprofit motive would be recognized; the market economy would be preserved by the stringent intervention of the public authorities against600opolies and cartels. The State would itself be active in social andeconomic life but operating in a diffused way through subordinateorganizations by means of consultation and agreement between theinterests concerned. Society would be consumer-orientated, but notdominated by consumer advertising which would be restrained in theinterest of public morality, good taste, and economic sanity.The pre-eminent role of politics and of parliament would be restoredby political reforms and, as a result, a healthier political atmospherecreated. The pressure of local interests on national politics would bediminished by a growing sense of the primacy of the national interestover the interests of individual localities within the State; the preoccupation of politicians with the grievances of their constituentswould be minimized by the provision of more professional and moreeffective channels for such complaints.Art and culture would command public esteem; and the preserva350 STUDIES


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tion of open spacesand of historic features in our towns and countrysidewould be given a high priority. Votes would be sought and found bystriving to preserve rather than to destroy.Such a society would be open-not free from all considerations ofsocial distinction, for this is impracticable in human affairs,but withoutbarriers. Educational opportunity would be a primary feature; andwhile 600ey might help to buy an education, absence of it would notprevent people of brains from fulfilling their promise and making theirfull contribution to society.The mingling of those holding different religious views would beencouraged, subject to the need to preserve a religious formation ofyouth; and at least in the later stages of university education Irishyouths of different religious backgrounds would have an opportunityto meet and to learn about each others' ideas.Censorship would be strictly confined to the protection of the youngfrom commercial exploitation. And youth would be encouraged to facethe modern world rather than be completely sheltered from its manifestations until the moment of being thrown into its maelstrom.The sense of nationality enjoyed by Irish people in such a societywould be simply pride in their country and their roots in it, and inthe society of which they form a part. It would be neither narrow norexclusive, containing no hatred of any other country, nor passion forrevenge or self-assertion. This local loyalty would be accompanied bya sense of belonging to Europe, and by a sense of inter-dependencewith the rest of the world.There are no doubt some who might feel little sympathy with theidea of a Christian society, and might feel more drawn to the materialistic world of Britain or elsewhere. Others would prefer a narrowGaelic, Republican, and sectarian community. Others again mightregard any such attempt to visualize the future and to seek to give itshape as visionary and utopian, the work of dreamers and fools. Butrecent years have shown that especially a600g young people in Irelandthere exists a solid body of thought that rejects all these attitudes, andthat is profoundly Christian, idealistic, liberal, proudly Irish but antipathetical to traditional nationalism, outward-looking and reconciled

to the better manifestations of the modern world. This body of opinionis seeking a coherent philosophy, which it has yet to evolve. This articlerepresents a groping in that direction. If others follow this up withtheir own contribution to this discussion, seeking to make explicit theirideals and ambitions for their country, these gropings may in time takeshape in a modern Christian society.1cf. 'Ireland:1963-1973'.olandBurkeSavage, .J., Studies, ummer963,pp.115-24 Vol.LII,No.206).

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1964_Seeking a National Purpose, Garret Fitzgerald

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