The problem is not the Irish and their vote. Frankly, I find many of the reasons for the Irish voting “No” quite ridiculous (bir-rispett kollu). The words “misinformation”, “spurious No campaigns” and “insular mentality” come to mind. Voters at the referendum booths declared to journalists that they were voting to keep out “abortion, being called up to the European army and homosexuality”. Ring a familiar bell? Referendums themselves are a subject of bitter debate as to whether they are the best tool for assessing democratic will. Jean Monnet Professor George Schopflin makes an interesting argument on Opendemocracy.org that
discussions about referendums and their efficacy tend to confuse populism and democracy.
In the 1960s there was a heated debate as to the role of referendums to assess the will of the people. One of the main protagonists of the debate, Lord Devlin, argued that referendums would be useful for ethical issues – a sound guide to the content of morality – but less so about practical procedural law. (I admit this is a very rough summary of the debate). There is much more to be said about the usefulness of referendums in today’s pluralist society but that would require a book, not a 2,000 word article.
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