Commonwealth Games

I’ve always had a little bit of a soft spot for the Commonwealth Games because, from the very parochial point of view of English table tennis, here is a realistic chance to be amongst the medal winners, whereas in the World Championships or Olympic Games, England doesn’t have a hope in hell. China has a monopoly in that respect. Having said that, even the Commonwealths are becoming an increasingly insurmountable hurdle for England, as former Chinese national stars fan out across the globe turning up in places as far a-field as Canada, Australia and Ireland, not to mention closer to home in Malaysia, Singapore and Honk Kong.

India too, as it emerges out of its colonial imposed backwardness, can also be expected to present a credible sporting challenge where once there was none. Similarly the African nations, as they rapidly develop their own middle classes, will inevitably turn to sport as a recreation and diversion from more pressing pursuits.

Leaving the sporting aspect aside, next year’s Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh brings into sharp focus the whole question of Scottish Independence. As to the dry economic case for Independence, I have no particular view. A partially convincing case can no doubt be made for both sides. But from a socio-political point of view my sympathies instinctively side with the case for independence. The United Kingdom has, since its inception, been an institution of empire and the further one travelled from Westminster, the nastier was the imperial boot. Sure there were exceptions to that rule, but few could argue that the Celtic nations were systematically subjugated by the Anglo-Saxon Imperialists. No doubt the likes of Niall Ferguson would vehemently disagree, but then he would, being a mouthpiece and apologist for British Imperialism around the globe.

Even today, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland enjoying a greater sense of political independence in the wake of Labour’s devolution legislation, the reverberations of centuries of Westminster diktat can still be felt. But that is really not the point. Scottish Independence should not primarily be about righting an old grievance, though this might play a legitimate part in the debate. No, the real issue here is about increasing local democracy in the face of an increasingly faceless and undemocratic European Union. I for one am a strong supporter of European Union both for its social and economic benefits. And even if I were opposed to it, as many are on the left and right of British politics, I suspect, in the age of globalisation, European Union is inevitable. I would be most surprised that within the next fifty years many other nations will seek to join the union including Turkey, Russia and the Ukraine. And why not, for that matter, at least associate membership for the North African nations of Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.

So, much as I support the rapid enlargement of the European Union I also see the desperate need to enhance local democracy. The two processes need to develop hand in hand. Just which authorities should get which powers will be a matter of never-ending debate, but the debate must start with the principle that people will only feel comfortable being part of a giant union if they feel their local grievances and preoccupations are being democratically dealt with. We obviously function best as human beings when we feel a sense of local empowerment, and no union, be it the United States of America, a United Europe or any other federation of nations or regions will last long, unless this principle of localism is enshrined into peoples everyday lives. My support for Scottish Independence falls within this demand for radically increasing local Scottish democracy, though I do concede that much the same could be achieved through further devolution.

So this for me is not really about the Scottish question but rather a model for all nations and regions. The contentious Basque region, the Catalonian region, the contending parts of Belgium and many more, including the North of Ireland, could all profitably be advanced within the framework of a united but locally democratic European Union. Much work would be needed to be done to enshrine this localism within the European statutes but if there was a political will on behave of legislators to match the clear and vocal demand from European citizens, this ought to be a fairly simple matter. The stumbling block will come from those still harbouring an imperialist mentality, which argues that the centre is always right and the provinces must be made to comply. All the big European powers are still tainted with this nineteenth century mind-set but in the age of the internet and the associated horizontal communications that it allows, it is that much harder for the centralised state to prevail. At the very least, they no longer have a monopoly over the dissemination of ideas. Even Putin’s Russia, clinging as it does to centralised authoritarian governance, will not be able to resist forever the world of social media and the subversive activities of the blogosphere.

The dialectics of the situation are clear. The world is rapidly forming into giant trading-blocks; the Americas, Eurasia, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and of course China and its satellites. Each of these huge trading entities will be interlocked with each other. Economic ruin for one will mean economic ruin for all. No one will be able to stand aside. Global institutions like the G20 will become increasingly dominant. The importance of the G7 and G8 will fade. The United Nations will be restructured to take account of the new global reality.
All this seems somewhat inevitable. Much of it is already happening. What is also happening, albeit in a fragmented, contradictory and sometimes incoherent way, is a demand to govern ourselves locally. The demand for Scottish independence should be seen very much as part of that global demand.

If the call for Scottish independence is successful, expect an immediate upsurge in the aspirations of many other regional demands, particularly in the six counties of Ireland still nominally under British rule. The two seemingly opposite trends of union and localism can and should be reconciled. We can plan and govern globally while at the very same time governing ourselves locally. This may seem contradictory and impossible to those wooden headed ideologues on both sides of the political fence, but when you think it through, it will be increasingly impossible for ten billion people to live harmoniously without globalism and localism being reconciled. This is an irreconcilable contradiction only for those with exceedingly shallow minds.

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