The Politics of Self-Determination

There is currently a swathe of people who want to break off from a larger socio-economic area and become a smaller self-governing entity. One group of people already had a referendum in place and they know when it will be with certainty. The other group of people have an “if this, then that” date for a potential referendum. Both splinter groups don’t really have the foggiest idea what will happen if they are successful in their respective leaps in the dark.

I am of course referring to Scotland in the first instance and the UK (with or without Scotland, depending on timing) in the second instance. I believe that people should be able to determine their own future. I also believe that people are stronger when they are together – indeed, stronger than when they are apart. For millennia, the natural instinct of mankind is to herd together for greater protection against the elements. However, there are always a few who believe that they could be automagically bigger fishes if the pond were made artificially made smaller. Hence we have scant but powerful megalomaniacal people who are poised to rend asunder hundreds of years (in the case of the Scots) and decades of unity (in the case of Europe).

I believe that a “yes” result in these promised referendums would be an abstract lesson in pyrrhic victories. The outcome would be so unfathomable that the resulting paralysis would be catastrophic in terms of the overall sovereignty of the respective nations. In the case of Scotland, there are virtually ‘no knowns’ in terms of dealing with the aftermath of a ‘Yes’ vote and the SNP have inveigled and obfuscated facts continually and repeatedly about the nature of the after effects and how they would deal with the transition. Similarly, Britain would suddenly cease to be relevant in terms of trading and being a financial hub in the context of the wider world, let alone Europe itself yet for some bizarre reason a few UKIPers and Tory Grandees would be rubbing their hands together before realising how much trouble they would be in.

However, the force of democracy is the only way to determine what should be done about the future of a nation. I welcome the opportunity to vote in referendums, indeed, many populations do not have that luxury, and if the arguments are true and sound then the people’s voice will heard and that will be the determination of the direction of the country.