The report of the Democracy Commission : engaging citizens : the case for democratic renewal in Ireland

changed class perceptions.From the 1960s onwards, increasing prosperity affected social mobility increasing the size of the middle class.People became more consumer orientated, less interested in social solidarity and more conscious of the burden of taxation.The emergence of Ronald Reagan in the United States, Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Roger Douglas in New Zealand together shifted the balance of the post war settlement at least in the Anglo-Saxon world, of which Ireland is a part.But in reality they were the logical outcome of a trend already evident.The collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist regimes of Eastern Europe appeared to reinforce liberal capitalism as the one true faith.This conclusion is, of course, hotly contested by Social Democrats and there is now a serious ideological battle for the soul of Europe between free market Liberals and Social Democrats.So, while people often say that there are no ideological differences anymore it is not quite true.The picture is confused, of course, in a European context by the fact that the leading protagonists appear to be in a role reversal.Tony Blair, nominally a Socialist, is the champion of free markets while Jacques Chirac, from the centre right, is fighting the battle for Social Europe.As a personal observation I would say that the Anglo-Saxon free market model has shown itself better at creating wealth but has failed to stem the rise in inequality both in the developed and the developing world.The fact that the Commission did not get into this territory does not mean that we did not appreciate the importance of it.Indeed, we do from time to time in the report comment on the mistaken perception that politics is only about marginalism.We realise that the citizen will not be engaged unless he/she believes in something.This is where political leadership comes in.It is assumed that disillusionment is experienced only by the electorate.Perhaps the most unexpected outcome of our enquiry is the extent of disillusionment among politicians.Voters see -because the media shows them -that our politicians are full time professionals but most of them can do very little that directly impacts on the lives of voters.They also endure trivialising of their efforts by media.Much of their power has gone to Brussels or to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.Judges circumscribe the limit of public inquiry they can make.The increasing centralisation of responsibility for servicesThe Report of the Democracy Commission: The Case for Democratic Renewal in Ireland

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