Madam, - Denis Fahey (September 18th) decries the calls for the reintroduction of university fees, adducing that the children of the middle class should not subsidise research "which will be read by virtually nobody".
Perhaps he might do well to ponder on the words of J.M. Keynes: "Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are usually distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back."
The power of ideas lies not in their quantum of readers but in the quality of their influence. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN M. LUCEY,
Senior Lecturer
in Finance,
School of Business Studies,
Trinity College,
Dublin 2.