Draw Breath

I have to say I was more confused at the end of David McWilliams's Generation Game on RTE last night than at the beginning of it. McWilliams is an Irish economist who amongst other things was the first to predict the advent of the Celtic Tiger and is now heralding its demise.

The crux of his argument was that the Irish diaspora are key to turning the situation in Ireland around. A second generation Irish American family in New York is shown as an example of Irish culture flourishing far away from home. Direct descendants of 1890s emigrants to Argentina speak of their affinity to Ireland and their desire to return to the homeland.

Key to the Argentinians' situation is the fact that they have been denied Irish passports and are thus unable to spend long in Ireland. Conversely, it is shown that other nationalities with less of a traditional affinity with Ireland, such as the Lithuanians, have been not only allowed to live in Ireland permanently but are also careful to maintain their own individual culture within Ireland. McWilliams is not averse to this; indeed he uses the Lithuanian example as an example of how the Irish fared and prospered when they initially left for places like New York or Liverpool. Wayne Rooney's grandmother is also featured, explaining the strong links today between Liverpool and Ireland.

So, Irishness and an increased sense of what is means to be Irish has been beneficial and will be beneficial in the future. This mentality has served us well in the past. Indeed, the continued success of such Irish exports as Riverdance proves the marketability of the Irish product. Another Irish product such as Guinness is making huge inroads into heretofore unlikely target markets such as Nigeria.

Product is the key to the resurgence of the Irish marketplace and McWilliams suggests that the most successful business ideas going forward will be products built on concepts; virtual rather than real.

The issue becomes clouded when the question of who ultimately buys and sells this product is raised. Argentina, The US and Britain hold so many millions of the Irish diaspora and can be relied on to be supportive of their roots. However, the one country with no historic links to Ireland, no emotional interest in the success or failure of the Irish economy is also mentioned as key, China. Irish companies are increasingly seeing the benefit of hiring young Chinese migrants who have beome knowledgeable about Irish culture and taste and are keen to forge business links between Ireland and China.

Young professionals in China may have a strong affinity with Ireland. However, they may simply be trying to make the best sale. Does this not suggest that, increasingly, profit could be predicated more on innovation than culture? Equally, should the culture of a host country assume a huge importance to newcomers whose main concern is building a better financial future for themselves? If they do not wish to embrace the culture of the host country instead of their own, surely they are still contributing to the growth of the country in their own way. In short, is culture all that important when it comes to creating and selling ideas in the information age?

Perhaps the Argentinians should be given passports regardless.