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    Contemporary discourses of working, earning and spending: acceptance, critique and the bigger picture.


    Ryan, Anne B. (2003) Contemporary discourses of working, earning and spending: acceptance, critique and the bigger picture. In: The end of Irish history? Critical reflections on the Celtic Tiger. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

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    Abstract

    It has become commonplace to assert that Irish people now have more choices and enjoy a higher standard of living than ever before. An assumption also exists that the role of the ordinary citizen is to be a member of the paid labour force and a consumer, in order to 'keep the economy going'. Many people consequently live in a work-earn-spend cycle, spending much of what they earn on possessions and services now considered essential for everyday life. Savings are at an all time low, and credit-card debt at an all-time high, especially among people under thirty five . Everyday life is often experienced as harried and fraught. Media discussions often portray Irish society as increasingly similar to that in the United States of America, often assuming that ordinary people have little choice regarding the shape of their lives .

    Item Type: Book Section
    Keywords: TINA - there is no alternative; Consumerism; Downshifting; Work life balance; Balanced living; Discourse; Subjectivity; Regulatory discourses; Critical discourses; Resistance; Critical thinking; Reality discourses; Work; New essentials; Blame; Lack of control; Self-regulating subject; Gender; Normality; Bigger picture; Economics; Sustainability; Shopping; Economic visibility; Connection; Personal development;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education
    Item ID: 913
    Depositing User: Anne B. Ryan
    Date Deposited: 04 Mar 2008
    Journal or Publication Title: The end of Irish history? Critical reflections on the Celtic Tiger
    Publisher: Manchester: Manchester University Press
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
      Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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