President criticises ‘failed paradigm’ of past governments’ economic policies
By Geoff Percival
Saturday, February 04, 2012
President Michael D Higgins has hit out at the financial excesses of previous governments, adding that Ireland’s economic recovery hinges on a mix of ingenuity, social inclusion and new economic thinking.
Making his first business -related address since being elected, President Higgins opened a two-day economic conference yesterday, saying that any return to old models "will not suffice".
Speaking at the start of the Trinity Economic Forum at Trinity College Dublin yesterday evening, he said: "We know that the present economic morass through which we are struggling didn’t come about by accident.
"We know it came about because of a failed paradigm of economic policy, undeclared assumptions, skewed values and the growth of a culture where our assets were valued and utilised on purely material considerations. It was a version of economics that was rooted in a radical individualism and a theory of infallible efficient markets, delivered through policies of light — or no — regulation."
"We are all now grappling with the enormous consequences of that failure and must now move forward to a better model — one that will build social cohesion and provide a sustainable basis for economic development.
"We must reject the notion of normative citizens being reduced to the status of disaggregated rational utility maximisers in our theories and policies," he added.
President Higgins said that Ireland has the chance to return to an economic model that protects the common interest, recognises the worth of collective decision -making and understands the negative consequences of "a completely laissez-faire approach to the operation of market mechanisms".
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This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, February 04, 2012
