Some quick thoughts, for what its worth, just a personal assessment: (1) Its a cliche but the RIC campaign was absolutely fantastic. They created a mass movement for a better kind of society, and one that could take on the media, the British state, and ultimately international capital - take on to the point of inspiring outright panic. RIC look very well placed to take this energy forward in whatever way they think best. They are an outstanding example for the rest of us. (2) from the way Cameron is talking I fear they may be lining up a terrible revenge - to pick up Scotland and smash it against the wall. Pour encourager les autres, dont you know. Which means austerity-plus via amendments to the Barnett formula. This could be a rerun of 1979, after the devolution vote went astray, Thatcher was in power, and Scotland suffered perhaps worst out of any sizeable part of Great Britain. (3) the biggest single culprits in all of this are the Labour leadership. I dont believe that without the entirely cynical rediscovery of the language of class and solidarity on their part this vote would have turned in the way it did. (4) however, I think the time for twee ideas about class solidarity being dependent on a solidarity with ones state will very soon be over, and self-evidently over. There will be an urgent need to prevent a redoubling of austerity in Scotland (and potentially elsewhere), which means unity with all those thousands of Labour members and supporters who also oppose austerity - even if their leadership does not. (5) in Scotland that will also mean, as Salmond suggested, holding Cameron to his pre-election vows. Which would mean serious campaign, again reaching beyond existing support for independence, learning all the lessons of the referendum and taking them to the streets, the workplaces, wherever. Just a thought. (6) this matters, in the first instance, since the more the existing powers are tied up trying to resolve the British states now many and varied constitutional headaches, the less they are able to enforce austerity. The two issues go together, as the referendum campaign showed. And the more we can insist on democratisation of the state, the more tied up - at the very least - they will become. For democracy, against austerity.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 17:23:04 +0000
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