Celtic tigresses 10 July 2005

In a series of New York Times articles Thomas Friedman recently described Ireland’s rapid rise to the position of Europe’s richest country (“The End of the Rainbow,” 29 June; “Follow the Leapin’ Leprechaun,” 1 July). He attributes this economic miracle to wise public policies in the context of Ireland’s embrace of globalisation. I am wondering if he has seen the Magdalene Sisters, though. The movie describes an estranged society where everyday discipline based on general rules is enforced within the family and public institutions with utmost, almost sadistic, severity; the rules, meanwhile, are generally accepted by the victims of their enforcement. I am wondering if these cultural traits may offer a better explanation of Ireland’s success story; and whether societies lacking similar kinds of discipline and habitual submission can equally benefit from the policies Friedman describes.