GARHWAL POST / editorial / 13th September 2014 Silly Season The referendum on Scotland’s freedom that is to take place on 18 September is a calculated gamble by the British to keep the United Kingdom together. Some may even ask why it was even necessary to have such a referendum as the issue wasn’t exactly an earth-shaking one. However, wise governance requires that an issue be dealt with when it is manageable, not when it goes out of hand. Also, if there is a large enough number of people interested in an issue, it ought to be addressed by government. So many of the conflicts in the world could be solved amicably if a similar approach were adopted. It is largely expected that the Scots will vote to stay with the Union, though the latest polls have been worrisome. Even if they do lose, the separatists will recognise that their sentiments were given due respect, while the moral authority of the British state will be even greater. Of course, looked at from a larger perspective, the demand for Scottish independence is a silly, even dangerous one. Oil from the North Sea and some other factors might encourage the Scots to think they would profit from separation, but it must be realised that a nation-state is more than just an economic unit. Apart from the ridiculousness of such a tiny island being broken up into small countries – Wales could be next – what is the guarantee that an immigrant group in large enough numbers would not demand its right to secede from any of these countries on ethnic, ideological or religious basis? A particular flaw in the referendum also is the exclusion of over a million expatriate Scots from the vote, even though they would be the most immediately affected in terms of legal status. A nation also needs the means to defend itself. Once it begins to spend on a military, the smaller the unit, the more expensive it becomes. A wealthy country in per capita terms like New Zealand, for instance, does not even maintain a fighter squadron in its Air Force. It has outsourced its defence to the American umbrella. In other words, the retired municipal worker in Detroit who has lost his or her pension has paid for the luxury of New Zealand’s non-militaristic welfare state. A larger, more viable entity also provides the kind of support other entities cannot in times of emergency, such as the recent floods in Kashmir or the hurricanes that have increasingly begun to hit the United States. Federal forces and agencies rush in with immediate assistance, without need for complicated arrangements and desperate search for funds. Entities like the European Union have created a sense of complacency among their constituents, making them believe that the concept of the nation-state is obsolete. It may be noted, however, that there are certain challenges that cannot be faced without greater integration. If nation-states have to break up, then the EU will have to be more than just an economic entity and federate into a United States of Europe. NATO requires member nations to have their own armies, but – as in the case of funds – the burden is greater on just a few nations. Before small ethnic entities like the Scots succumb to sentiment, they must also consider these cold hard facts. They might otherwise face further disintegration, or have to merge with an even larger entity than the United Kingdom.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:41:34 +0000
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