Madam, - Constantin Gurdgiev (Opinion, August 21st) falls into the trap beloved of many "economists", particularly in Ireland of conflating the "Law of Swedish Experience", as he calls it, with the "socialist state".
The degradation of socialism that reformism (social democracy) achieved, as described in 1972 by Tony Cliff in his introduction to Paul Frolich's book on Rosa Luxembourg, by "aspiring purely for the welfare state by tinkering with capitalism", is a poor basis for serious discussions on the way forward for public health services in this State.
Mr Gurdgiev's description of our hospitals as "understaffed, inefficient and at times Third World in quality of care" is good for headlines, soundbites and general self-applause in the constant efforts by New Right/public choice theorists to transplant their formulaic solutions from America and the UK to other parts of this planet.
Unfortunate as I have been to be a user of our public health service as both an outpatient and in-patient over the past year, I find his blanket condemnation of the staff and consultants as self-serving.
Bureaucracy in any democratic society always has had great difficulty in rationalising its activities for the good of the citizen. In another part of the forest, as they say, mercenary, i.e. private, armies go to war in Iraq without clear democratic control. Privately operated transport systems flourish briefly, as in the UK, and then public funds are required to bail them out.
By all means let us explore ideas and possibilities for improvements in our democratic societies' services; without the overthrow of capitalism and a reorganisation of our priorities, such discussion is all that is currently available. - Yours, etc.,
KEITH CARGILL, Drinagh, Ennistymon, Co Clare.