Tomorrow the voting begins in Scotland. The vote seems split down the middle and the fear mongering has been ongoing, even a royal baby didn’t seem to help all that much. One piece of crucial information is oil and gas revenues that would accrue to an independent Scotland who, by all accounts, have linked the “yes” vote to a more social democratic society. The linked article outlines the enormity of this wealth. The desire is to use this wealth to fund investments in education and social welfare. Corporatist policies of austerity are at the centre of this demand for independence. I wish the Yes side well since this may be the only way to restore public control over community regulations. I think of this situation much as I think of a smaller scale issue of urban incorporation in Canada (rather than Quebec sovereignty since the parallel is less applicable ): as cities amalgamate the local neighbourhood character radically transforms and many, myself included, abhor this situation since it tends to lead to less community ethos and the rise of corporate control that monopolizes all decision making, squeezing out options such as co op housing and renewable communities. More strip malls, police, and condos are not my vision of where I want to live. A smaller, more agile socially responsible Scotland that is responsive to its population and not to corporate London is what the Yes side desires.
Stuff that I am interested in.