Nationalist Questions

Only 59% of people in Scotland say they feel strongly British, well down on the 79% who do so in Wales and the 82% in England.

 More than four in five say they feel strongly Scottish. Indeed, as many as 61% saying they feel "very strongly" Scottish.

In contrast, only 54% of people in England feel "very strongly" English, while just 41% of those in Wales claim they are "very strongly" Welsh.

 A strong Scottish identity - and a weak British one - is the hallmark of SNP support. No less than 79% of those who voted for the party in last year's general election say they feel "very strongly" Scottish, whereas only 9% say they feel "very strongly" British.

 Only one in six people in England say they are English and are not British. No less than 70% of "English nationalists" say that "England was better in the past" and only 13% that its "best years are still in the future". In contrast, just 16% of SNP supporters believe that "Scotland was better in the past", while as many as 64% feel that the country's best years are yet to come. The optimism of SNP supporters is sustained by the prospect that one day Scotland will become independent and their belief - disputed by others of course - that Scotland will be better off as a result.

The SNP has long argued that it promotes an inclusive sense of Scottish identity - anyone who comes to live in Scotland has the right to be regarded as Scottish, irrespective of whether they or their parents were born in Scotland or not. In England, however, politicians have tended to promote Britishness rather than Englishness as the identity to which all living in England can lay claim.

Only about half (47%) say that someone who has lived in Scotland for more than 10 years makes someone Scottish. However, that is nearly twice the proportion of "English nationalists" (25%) who say that having lived in England for more than 10 years makes someone English. Half say that Scotland's "diverse cultural life" adds strongly to their sense of belonging to where they currently live, whereas only 22% of "English nationalists" do so. Half say that Scotland's "diverse cultural life" adds strongly to their sense of belonging to where they currently live, whereas only 22% of "English nationalists" do so.

There is one thing on which SNP supporters and "English nationalists" agree - that their country is better than most others. Three in five SNP supporters (60%) and almost two in three "English nationalists" express that view. In both cases, little more than a handful think that their country is worse than most other countries.

The novelist, Victor Hugo once said, “Let's not be English, French or German anymore. Let's be European. No not European, let's be men. Let's be Humanity. All we have to do is get rid of one last piece of egocentricity - patriotism." 

Why love a country more than any another simply on the basis of the bit of soil you happen to have been born on? The Socialist Party case against nationalism is straightforward. We do not advocate re-drawing the border. No socialist will ever fight to defend any border — we want to do away with the divisiveness of countries and states. Nationalism can never be a solution to the problems of oppression. The problem is class, not national, racial, or religious origins. As a class, workers have no country. The Scots do not own Scotland.

The independence movement seeks to persuade all those who live here that a better Scotland is possible. Nationalists endeavour to prove an independent Scotland would make everyone better off yet political power lies with a global elite and the economics is inter-linked across borders. Multi-national companies lobby and fund political parties across the world. No nation in a capitalist world has economic independence, they are all interconnected though obviously, the more powerful economies dominate the rest. Given the growing globalisation and unification of the world – contrary to the will of nations and governments – some people cling to what is familiar. 

Would an independent capitalism Scotland be any different than now - of course not? You've got to ask yourself, will the average Scot really gain much by Scottish independence? Or will he continue to be part of an exploited majority in a system run by a privileged minority, whether they be Scots or English?  If you think that some people have "rights" based on "nation" ("right of nations to self-determination" or a "right of abode" based on national/ethnic criteria) then you are arguing for nationalism and the right of bourgeoisie to dominate its "own" working class, not internationalism. If you support the "right of a nation to self-determination" you merge the population comprising this so-called nation into a homogenised mass with an over-riding common interest and common identity that is their national identity. Class differences are suppressed or even completely ignored for the sake of upholding this national identity. This is class collaborationism for the sake of an abstraction called the "nation state" which is itself a product of capitalism. Nationalism is not only a product of capitalism but a major means by which capitalism perpetuates itself. By buying into the illusion of nationalism you are aiding capitalism.