INEQUALITY AND CONTROL

[Stanley]

INEQUALITY AND CONTROL

Bad news Kids! I've been thinking again.... All sorts of interesting things are happening. On a personal level, going to the brink of blindness and then, thanks to modern science, being able to retreat. Watching the world repeat all the mistakes that led us to 2008 but failing to address the core issues and madly patching the holes in the economy as fast as they appear and then convincing themselves that the system has triumphed, we have avoided complete melt-down. Go read Piketty Lads and do a bit of joined up thinking of your own! Then all of a sudden here in the UK we face the biggest political and constitutional change for 300 years as Scotland goes to the polls this week to decide whether to leave the union and become an independent country. Interesting times indeed....
Among my core beliefs there is one that says everything is connected, the link may not be obvious but if you dig deep enough you can make the connections. Another principle of mine is that if you study any human problem long enough and chase it down to its roots you will always find an issue of control. I have joined the dots up and am coming to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that two things have come together in Scotland, inequality and issues of control. These same two factors are going to hit the rest of us in terms of economic management on a global scale and, like Piketty, I can't rule out some sort of possibly violent reaction.
Let's have a look at Scotland and try to avoid getting bogged down in the complicated arguments we hear from all sides which confuse me and probably the Scottish electorate as well. If you look back at the history for the last 300 years, Scotland, like Ireland, has been treated as a colonial power to be exploited. It started with absentee landlords, sheep farming and the Clearances and developed into a cash cow from the North Sea and a handy place to base dangerous or dirty things like nuclear submarines and heavy industry. This resulted in a diversion of the natural development of the country and the biggest export was Scots people, largely to the colonies. You can trace a similar history in Ireland but the establishment of the Free State partially healed that wound. You can argue against my colonial theory if you want, it's not perfect, but the bottom line remains the same, control from Westminster. For colonialism, say exploitation, often the same thing. I see the actions of the Cavendish family in clearing the village from the front of Chatsworth House in order to 'improve' the view as exactly the same mind-set as absentee landlords and all the ills that brought to Scotland.
Why now? What was the trigger to the referendum? I agree with those who say it is a 'perfect storm'. Three things coincided, the dominance of the Scottish National Party in their home Parliament, the economic crisis and the totally mistaken doctrine of austerity and last but not least, the fact that the austerity was imposed by a Tory-led coalition. However, despite what David Cameron says, a vote to secede is not simply an anti-Tory vote, it's far more complicated than that. The fact is that the Scottish electorate have been given a simple choice, stay in the union or become an independent country. Worth remembering that Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, asked for a third alternative to be on the voting paper. This was the offer of what has become to be known as 'Devo-Max', staying in the union but with increased powers for the Edinburgh parliament. Cameron had the last word on this and refused the option, a bad mistake.
What will the result be? I'm writing this on September 17th, a day before the poll. Both sides are optimistic but the reality is that it is to close to call. The wonderful thing about the poll could be the extremely high turnout, expectations are well over 80% which, compared with the dismal response to normal elections is very heartening and confirms my view that these low turnouts are entirely down to the bad perception of both politicians and the system of government. In this poll the people know that their vote will count, it is a philosophical rather than a political choice and for once they feel they have control. Another welcome aspect is that in so many interviews with ordinary people we hear them say that they haven't been swayed by the various counter arguments and the dire predictions of doom by the naysayers. They seem to be concentrating on one crucial question, do they want independence or not.
Are there any certainties? I believe there are. When the Expenses Scandal hit the Westminster Village I wondered whether this could be the first sign of some movement in the tectonic plates of politics. It seemed to me that such a blow had been delivered to our system of government and the status of politicians that something might have cracked. The economic policies of the Tory led Coalition have further damaged credibility in that 90% of the electorate see their incomes falling while the perpetrators of the credit melt down go from strength to strength. The ideas of men like Piketty and Stiglitz make perfect sense and they are reinforced by bodies like the IMF and central banks who, while they like the results in the markets, are increasingly speaking against austerity and a recovery based on debt. Once again we begin to see the glacially slow trend arguing for more control by the 90%.
I believe that the greatest certainty is that whatever the result of the poll tomorrow things can never be the same again. Even if the NO campaign wins, the pressure for Scottish Independence will not go away and in the end will inevitably succeed. A victory for YES means that there has to be a complete realignment in governance. In either case there is going to be a reaction, initially from the right wing of the Tory Party but then from people like the Welsh and the regions, especially in the North of England. They will want whatever additional powers and freedoms Scotland gets. The landscape of the General Election in 2015 is fundamentally changed and don't forget that Nigel Farage and UKIP are waiting in the wings, possibly with a victory for Farage in the by-election at Clacton in October.
I have a conclusion. The root of the movement for independence in Scotland and possibly elsewhere as well is an attempt to free the electorate from an increasingly dysfunctional model of governance that promotes inequality and central control. It has implications for the seemingly impregnable institutions of the Monarchy and the Establishment. It may be that the modern disease of privilege could be weakened. Looking even further ahead there is the possibility that crude economic advantage as evidenced by the power of the financial sector may come under attack. Social worth rather than the ability to consume may become more important.
I'd better stop here, I'm indulging in fantasy but my central point remains, if the electorate sees a chance of establishing control over their own lives and a reduction in inequality they might emulate Scotland and do something about it! I certainly hope so!

SCG/17/09/14

[Stanley]

Bumped. This was seven years ago but I believe the effects of it are still working themselves out. Things changed and at the moment it seems as though the change was for the worse....

[Stanley]

"90% of the electorate see their incomes falling while the perpetrators of the credit melt down go from strength to strength."
Recognise that one? This is just as pertinent now as it was then.....