I voted "no" to independence yesterday, 18th September. But not
because I don't think Scotland could be independent. Here's why:
I've
said it again and again over the last few years: There is no reason why
Scotland should not be independent. There are plenty of examples
worldwide of small and prosperous nations - Switzerland, Singapore to
name but two. But the Scottish Nationalist Party is socialist; indeed, I
believe it harbours communists. One of its most famous communists was
the poet Hugh MacDiarmid
who wrote some wonderful poetry in the Scots language (not Gaelic), and
I believe quite a number of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) have
quietly continued to adhere to his views.
I know of
no instance of a socialist society that has also been prosperous in the
long term. Arguably the greatest thinker and economist of any time from
any part of the world, a Scot, Adam Smith,
born in Kirkcaldy, lived Edinburgh, said that profitable societies work
due to the "invisible hand" of commerce being allowed to operate
freely. In a nutshell, we all do what we need and want to do, and by
and by everything humanity needs and desires is produced, developed,
designed, implemented. This is Capitalism. It seems to me that this is
largely how the USA worked up till the turn in the 1990's, with a few
hiccups along the way. Its what made her a superpower.
Socialists,
on the other hand, meddle, fudge, build ever bigger government (the US
is now in a socialist trend - Obamacare, for example), get into more and
more debt, build ever bigger government to hunt down ever more money to
pay for their experiments - a vicious circle. It doesn't work. The
Englishman, Thomas Paine,
probably the most enlightened revolutionary who ever lived said,
"Society in every state (of being) is a blessing, but government even in
its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an
intolerable one...". With his support and writings, George Washington
roused and inspired a rabble of cold, wet and hungry farmers to stand up
to the biggest empire the world had known up to that time, and kick it
out! Good riddance! Paine was and is right!
I voted against the intolerable evil of big, socialist government - not against the idea of independence per se.
So
why do I say that Scotland is now in a civil "war"? Simply this;
nearly half of the population seems to want one thing (55%), the other
half the opposite (45%). Or that's what they think. I really don't
believe most Scots have drawn the distinction I have between Socialism
and bigger government on the one hand, and prosperity with independence
on the other. There will be a price to pay for this, and Alex Salmond
and the SNP will be blamed by history for the troubles to come.
However, the SNP is really only symptomatic of a greater trend; the
loss of confidence in governments across much of the world, and the
backlash against the corruptness of it all.
There will
be a reckoning. Investors will struggle to find safety for capital, let
alone a return. The situation will only favour traders, but a good
many of them will loose their shirts, too.
Can I take
heart from the fact that the overall turnout to vote was a staggeringly
high 85%? Are Scots democrats? Or, as some commentators have said, did
they really just vote for their pensions and self-interest?
I really don't know, but they couldn't be blamed for it. But I do know
that how it plays out won't be predictable or especially pleasant.
How depressing.
