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I really want the Union to stay together. I feel the exact same way about Wales, although since I have a lot of family there, I have a stronger investment. The UK has a strong shared history. Through two World Wars, and even Bonaparte, a strong united UK has bennefitted the people of the isles. The Economist also wrote an excellent article about how the Scottish economy would fare without the UK, and it isn't pretty. Especially in light of what's happened to Ireland, strong nation-states will weather to current crisis much better than small ones.
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Jun 15, 2012 19:59
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KingFisher posted:Is there anything that can be done to help this effort? I cannot disagree with this viewpoint enough. If 4000 years of human history, and the last 200 especially have shown us anything, it's that a strong nation-state is economically and politically the strongest. People should be able to look past tribalism and regionalism just like they look past the caste system and sectarianism. As much as regional interests should be respected, there is no reason to weaken the state as a whole! Scotland, Wales and Cornwall have a tiny fraction of the economic, politcal, and military power of the United Kingdom. Scotland and Wales already have strong and active parliments, it isn't like they're being run from Whitehall anymore.
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Jun 15, 2012 20:17
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KingFisher posted:Why not just have one big world government then? Having a lot of tiny, weak states is as absurd as a united world government. Neither one would represent the interests of citizens as well as a nation. Scotland has the benefit of UK tax revenue being shared, without the UK, and with a smaller government and tax base, and with less foreign investment, Soctland would be less able to provide for it's populace. That's without even touching on the loss of influence on the international scale, such as G8, UN Security Council and NATO membership. Frosted Flake fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 20:32
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Peel posted:Two otherwise identical nations might or might not do better as one larger nation, but that neglects the fact that England is full of Tories. I know, and it sucks, but the Tories won't always be in power. Italy and Germany don't fracture every time an unpopular government is elected. A divided UK will have longer lasting consequences than anything the Tories could do. Kin posted:I don't know the ins and outs of British Empire history, but I have been wondering how much influence Scotland, Wales and NI have had historically on the conquests of The British Empire and its "clout". I'm assuming that while many good soldiers have come from all of the countries many of British Military actions have come at the behest of Westminster or whatever English Parliament was in power, no? In Empire (a fantastic book that I highly reccommend) Niall Ferguson points out that the majority of East India Company men in India were Scots, followed closely by Irishmen. The Scots were on the frontlines of the Empire from the very start and were very influential. E: Since Kin expressed interest, I'll slap on a little blurb about Empire since it really is a special book. Niall Ferguson makes understanding something as massive and comlicated as the history of the British Empire enjoyable, and does his best to make the issue apolitical. It is also a very very readable book.The prose is entertaining and informative, and the footnotes are excellent if you want to go a bit deeper. Terms and concepts are explained as they come up, and there's no presumption of prior knowledge or a prior position on Imperialism. It's pretty bad I found the relevent section of the book, and included a quick blurb. There are quite a few pages on the involvement of the Scots, which was something I didn't know before. For example, Scots were vastly more likely to intermarry with natives, and their treatment of them was very different than the English approach, on the whole. Empire, p. 33 posted:
Frosted Flake fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Jun 16, 2012 |
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Jun 16, 2012 00:55
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