Recently, and especially during the recent election campaigns, we have heard much of Scottish Independence, the Barnet Formula and what it could be worth, the West Lothian Question etc. during all of which there has been more and more -welcome - self examination from the English. Part of this self examination is described in "England: an identity in question", an article on Open Democarcy by Roger Scruton. It's very easy to let someone else do the writing and then say you agree...so easy in fact that that's exactly what I've done!
"The trend toward Britain’s fragmentation leaves its majority nation in search of itself...""England after Britain. Three questions confront the English people today: first, can a viable English identity be forged, that will provide the social cohesion and pre-political loyalty required by a modern nation-state? Secondly, can the break-up of the kingdom be managed without losing the good relations and common interests that have created such a successful partnership in the past? Thirdly, will the resulting loose alliance of nation-states be able to defend the interests of each of them, against the adverse pressures emanating from the wider world, or will their separation result in a loss of influence and security for them all?" Identity, Commonality and Influence are the headings for those three questions, Roger gives us his opinion.
"Maybe England will emerge from the final fragment of its former empire with a new sense of why it matters to survive. If that were the result of separation, what English patriot could be opposed to it?"Another point touched on is the opinion that the EU would in fact be opposed to the break-up of the Union because despite probably aiding the idea of "Europe of the Regions" it would disrupt what are two low tax, liberal economies; that to me isn't the main problem, I can foresee a major dilemma for a future English Parliament: who would we invade first? The Scots or the French?
;-)
5 comments:
Good to see old Rog is calming down in his old age, must be fatherhood. He used to work for a client and some of his correspondence on the likes of you and me Span was hilarious.
He actually makes a lot of sense, the whole Englishness debate always gets clouded by lists of people from Turner to Bragg, Chaucer to Cleese when in fact they don't define Englishness anymore than a bad haircut defines a Tory minister.
I think that the British Government have actually stitched up the Scots big time with the reworking of the oilfield/offshore water boundaries and that Scotland will find life in the EU impossible, providing it gets in, in the first place.
Ireland is not a good example of a liberal, low tax regime as we've discussed before - give any country non refundable aid and the economy will benefit short term and be able to reduce taxes. Ireland will resemble Sweden or possibly Germany within a generation, unable to sustain growth without big changes.
Thanks for the reply Paul...will they or won't they (stay up that si!)
Any anecdotes about Roger? Funny that you 'know' him.
Re Scotland...what did they expect!...
Re Ireland: "as we've discussed before" hehehe...but I expect you're right, too much too young!
My dealings with RS were because he worked on a part-time basis for a client as a conference speaker and education advisor for one of Bath and Oxford Universities via a client of ours. Our client was owned by a former Financial Times journalist whose address book read like a Who's Who of world politics in the late 80's and early 90's.
RS actually struck me as a very honourable man, apart from some of his un PC comments about those whom he considered to be not so well educated and the role of women in society. Some of the work he put in prior to his speaking was phenomenal.
He always put an invoice in for his conference work and was always paid by cheque. A lot of very famous people who worked the same conference circuit got paid in kind - it was strange realising that those people in power (and we are talking all the way to the top here) were quite as happy to take cash in hand as the local plumber or fence repairer.
Why am I not surprised (re money in hand etc) Can you remember an example or two of his work/speeches? I could look it up I suppose; he's done a few good articles for Open Democracy.
Excellent paul, just read it...a few leads to follow up to. Funnily enough I have recently read a couple of the US 'Conservative' magazines (American Spectator etc)..."the Web will keep seekers after pornography "at their desks, getting more and more chronically lame and blind and obsessed."...oooer...except for the pornography that's happening to me! ;-)
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