Ireland 2.0 - (Towards the 2nd Republic) 2018

By Liam O' Connor

This is not a history book - it looks to the next 100 years of Irish Governance, and asks how we can make things better than they are after the first 100.
The thoughts offered here can apply to other developed and developing countries.
The best way to protect democracy is to strengthen participation. Apathy is a bigger threat than fascism.

Lets think about what needs fixing.
Lets get excited about how we (ordinary citizens) can build the 2nd Republic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9780244670887

Book preview

Ireland 2.0 - (Towards the 2nd Republic) 2018

Ireland 2.0 – (Towards the 2nd Republic)

By Liam O Connor

2018

Copyright

Copyright © 2018 by Liam O Connor

All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without acknowledging the author. 

Published by LULU.COM

Contact Details: [e-mail]

ISBN:978-0-244-67088-7

Introduction

How this book works

This book is one of the shortest that you will ever read.  The ideas are simple to say, but may be very difficult to bring to completion.  Yet the message is important – it affects everyone that’s Irish, and it splits the past from the future.

I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting.  I don’t expect that you will agree with everything I say. But I believe that it is important to get people thinking about the topics raised here, and then expressing their own opinions.  I hope it gets you chatting with friends and acquaintances about these issues.  Even more, I hope it will inspire you to work for change.

This book is not free.  In fact, price-per-page it’s probably very expensive, even though it only costs less than the price of a couple of pints. But I’m not in it for the money.  I just want you to feel you are getting something worthwhile, and we rarely value what we get for free.

All funds raised will go to various charities to help them in the work they do.

(and you will have the opportunity to decide which charities).  We have so many fine voluntary organisations in this country, that reach out to support people – some damaged by the world in which we live.  Such organisations deserve our support – it’s just a shame that they are so busy.  If only we could build a kinder, more people-supporting country.

Please enjoy this book and I hope that it inspires you to take some steps toward building the 2nd Republic.  The Ireland that we can have if we are willing to dream, and turn our dreams into hard-worked reality.

Structure:

The book has 5 chapters (after this one). In total, about 30 pages.

I start by examining some of the problems we see in how Ireland is governed at present.  The purpose is not to identify evil politicians, or malicious public servants.  It’s more to see how structures have emerged that prevent good things happening, and people from producing good outcomes.

Then we look at four possible pillars on which we could build a new Ireland.  Not by revolution, but by evolution.  Keeping everything good that we have, but shifting everything else in a positive direction.

Finally, we look at the steps that ordinary people (there are 4.7 million of us) can take on a journey to the Ireland we want to see.

What’s the Problem

The State of the Nation

Ireland has been an independent country for approximately 100 years.  During that time the world has changed in many ways: politically, industrially, socially, and naturally.  There have been many terrible wars and natural disasters – not to mention man-made disasters.  Countries have come into being as hopeful democracies, and many have dropped back into humanity-crushing failures.  Man’s tribal instincts to form an alliance and then focus on attacking enemies, to the point of mutual destruction has come to the fore on many occasions, and as we became industrialised and globalised over the previous few centuries, so too this terrible instinct of man has become huge in its destructive capability.  There have however been great advances in many fields in that 100 years also:  science, medicine, communications, travel, etc.  And man’s better