Scottish Independence

[Working Class Hero]

Are you for it, against it, or ambivilent? Why?

[Q]

Against (http://www.revleft.com/vb/blog.php?b=18836).

[Comrade Strong]

Ambivalent. But since not all of the ballots are gonna come back with "Socialism now" written on them, I tend to favour a vote against.

[Atsumari]

Ambivalent but I do not blame many of the Scots for wanting independence. To say that that the rise of Scottish secessionism is out of blind cries of nationalism would be incorrect given that independence started to seem more and more as a rational option as the policies of Margaret Thatcher and the rise of New Labour started to take hold of Great Britain. In other words, the SNP is an attempt to bring back old Labour.

[Q]

Ambivalent but I do not blame many of the Scots for wanting independence. To say that that the rise of Scottish secessionism is out of blind cries of nationalism would be incorrect given that independence started to seem more and more as a rational option as the policies of Margaret Thatcher and the rise of New Labour started to take hold of Great Britain. In other words, the SNP is an attempt to bring back old Labour.
So, what you're effectively saying is that, with the rise of neoliberalism, you argue for a break up of states (if the logic applies to Great Britain, why not to Germany, Italy, France or the US?) in order to have statelets where a more leftwing policy can be held.

This logic is extremely unhelpful, mainly for two reasons. First, the break up of states means that the relative power of individual states decline and, therefore, the relative power of the international state hierarchy takes predominance. As we've seen in Greece the financial markets will cause havoc on an economy if the state is more of the perifery. This will cause very effective pressure to let individual states "play along" with neoliberal policies.

Second, because of this it is impossible to actually break with capitalist politics on a national level. Furthermore, small states can't be self-sufficient, so they'll need to import food and other necessities. This points to the need for the working class to unite on a global level. Breaking up states (and thereby breaking up historically grown working classes) is directly contrary to this need. We need to look towards a unification of Europe, think continentally, in order to even start posing a positive alternative.

Last but not least, while the SNP may be posing left, it would be rather stupid to say that it brings back old Labour...

[Invader Zim]

Given that there was a referendum on this issue last year, in which 'no' won by a fairly substancial 11% margin, this is, for the time being at least, a fairly moot question.

Personally, I don't think it is a good idea, because under the current situation it would significantly damage standards of living in Scotland but also in the rest of the UK. The SNP's economic sales pitch is snake oil.

[Blake's Baby]

I'm neither for, nor against, nor ambivalent. I am definitely opposed to the continued existence of Scotland either inside or outside the UK, inside or outside the EU (the continued existence of both of which I'm also opposed to).

[StromboliFucker666]

It's still going to be capitalist, so against.