Sir, – There would be no problem with civil society groups (NGOs) if they just did charitable good works ("NGOs: power and protest", Editorial, February 22nd). The concern is that both here, and throughout the West, representational democracy is slowly evolving into an NGOcracy.
Interconnected and well-funded activist NGOs now enjoy unrivalled access to the media, politicians and public servants. The concerns of working-class voters and the self-employed increasingly play second fiddle to those of unelected elite groups and their lobbyists.
Have a different opinion to these “progressive” NGOs and you risk being demonised as a phobic, a racist or even a “deplorable”. – Yours, etc,
KARL MARTIN,
READ SOME MORE
Dublin 13.