Dublin Opinion

[Thanks to Tom Redmond of the Communist Party of Ireland for the copies of Ripening of Time.]

The overall impression of the fourth issue of Ripening of Time is of a collective still exploring Irish economic and social history. It does not have the more polished feel of the later issues. Nonetheless, it provides some interesting points on the development of capitalism in Ireland in the twentieth century.

It opens in the 1930s, arguing that while the capitalist mode of production was dominant in Ireland, ‘other modes of production, and early capitalist relations persisted alongside, as is common in many dominant social formations. In Ireland, the persistence of a large fragmented whole of small farmers holders, labourers, tenant farmers resisted integration and it is precisely to these that the Republican Congress and other revolutionary groups addressed themselves, to forge a movement under the direction of the working class.’

The article also highlights the role of Britain in Irish banking. It does not mention, though, the Irish pound and its parity link with Sterling.

This policy made the Irish pound quite an expensive product, and was one of the reasons why Irish farmers were reluctant to borrow - the cost of the loans dampened investment.

The collective was aware of this fact - citing that ‘between 1934 and 1938, farmers put three times more money into the banks than they took out in loans’ - but didn’t follow through with the reasons for such behaviour. In other words, while the financial links with Britain are acknowledged, they are not explored in detail. This comes later.

It also argues that the end of the Second World War saw the Free State move ‘from the 2nd to the 3rd phase of imperialism, in which we are living today [i.e. 1976].’ Briefly, the three stages of imperialism are: plunder, trade, and direct investment. From 1945 to the present day we see Ireland, its resources and its people, exploited through foreign direct investment, and the rest of the article deals with this point.

It says that state intervention in the late 1940s and early 1950s ‘permitted the restructuring of Irish capitalism for a future penetration of internationalisation capital, feathering the nest for the cuckoo’s egg.’ It begins with the Marshall Aid plan, and from 1957 onwards we see the opening of foreign-owned factories in Ireland, as well as an increase in the national debt as Ireland borrows to pay for the type of infrastructure demanded by foreign investment.

The article also highlights the nature of foreign investment in Ireland, whereby materials are imported, processed, and exported with limited impact on the wider economy.

It also pinpoints the nature of indigenous Irish capitalism, which is that of the middle-man, the type of businesses which make a living by providing services to foreign investment.

Taking the Shannon area as an example, it writes:

Eighty-four per cent of companies on the Shannon estate are overseas subsidiaries. Forty-three per cent of [the Shannon Free Airport Development Company’s] income comes from land, factory and housing rentals - true comprador style.’

The Irish business model: construction and rents and a tax haven.

Sound familiar?

The first three articles in this series are link below:

1) Introductory Notes on Dominated Ireland (1976)

2) Agriculture and fishing: Two Forgotten Faces of Capitalism in Ireland (1976).

3) The State of Ireland, Pt.1 (1976)