ABSTRACT
In the contemporary recession, the states of the western world are apparently convinced that their economic survival depends on the speed with which they adopt the new technology of microelectronics. This chapter examines the growth of the electronics industry in Ireland in these terms: the expansion of electronics manufacturing and of state institutions concerned with the industry is analyzed as the legitimation of inequality by means of the extension of technocratic ideology. It shows how the growth of electronics manufacturing in the Republic of Ireland has been presented as transforming the country. For its advocates the industry is based on high technology and therefore involves highly skilled labour. The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) claims to be building an Irish industrial base but its policies lead to increasing dependence on foreign companies. Seventy per cent of the projected demand for graduate engineering 'manpower' is accounted for by the growth of IDA manufacturing and service projects.
