Austerity Ireland The Failure of Irish Capitalism

Ireland has been marketed as the poster boy of EU austerity. EU elites and neoliberal commentators claim that the country's ability to suffer economic pain will attract investors and generate a recovery.

In Austerity Ireland, Kieran Allen challenges this official narrative and argues that the Irish state's response to the crash has primarily been designed to protect economic privilege. The resulting austerity has been a failure and is likely to produce a decade of hardship.

The book offers a deeply informed diagnosis of Ireland's current socio-economic and political malaise, suggesting that a political earthquake is underway which may benefit the left. Austerity Ireland is essential reading for students of Irish politics and economics, as well as those interested in the politics of austerity and the eurozone crisis.

Kieran Allen is a sociology lecturer at University College Dublin. His books include Marx and the Alternative to Capitalism (Pluto, 2011) and Max Weber: A Critical Introduction (Pluto, 2004) as well as a number of works on Irish society and politics.

Brian O' Boyle is the Economic Programme Director at St Angela's College, National University of Ireland, Galway. He has published a number of articles in International Critical Thought, Cambridge Journal of Economics and Capital and Class.

1. Wreckage
2. The Partners
3. The Failure of Austerity
4. The Re-Configuration of Ireland
5. Where are the Jobs?
6. Will There Be a Roof Over Our Heads?
7. Tax Haven Capitalism
8. A Change in Political Management
9. Why Don't the Irish Protest
10. Are Sinn Fein Ireland's Radical Left?
11. Conclusion
Notes
Index