Vad handlar det om – egentligen ?

Neil Irwin har på New York Times Upshot en intressant fundering om vad folkomröstningen i Skottland egentligen handlar om. Han pekar på paradoxen att vad skottarna vill är att byta ut att styras till del från London till att styras från Bryssel. Det handlar inte primärt om självstyre utan om ett sökande efter den nationella identitet som gått förlorad i dagens multikulturella, globaliserade värld.

If Scotland chooses to go independent, it will shed the advantages that come from being part of a relatively large global power (Britain’s population: about 64 million. Scotland’s population: about 5 million) for the chance to be governed by people with whom they share a deeper cultural affinity.

Paradoxically, pro-independence Scots have argued that they will recapture some of the advantages of size by joining the European Union. It seems slightly bonkers for Scots to get so frustrated about ceding power to bureaucrats in London and turn immediately to bureaucrats in Brussels, but there it is.

The Scottish referendum isn’t just about whether a few million Scots will govern themselves. It is a fight over the world of multicultural modernity that makes today’s global economy possible, but also leaves many people with a deep hunger for the sense of national identity it obliterates.