Independence For Whom And From What?

The SNP has now formally requested a second referendum for independence. The position of the Socialist Party has not changed since 2014

Nationalism has swept the world with increasing force. And the more the workers’ movement wallows in the doldrums, the more nationalism blossoms, despite the fact that national differences between the peoples are vanishing more and more. The socialist position on nationalism is simple. The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. The Socialist Party, however, will be turned by nationalist slogans and has always resisted the siren call of patriotism and national chauvinism by proclaiming the unity and indivisibility of the class struggle. Separatism weakens the workers' sense of solidarity and frequently drives them to strike-break on a national level. The principle of international solidarity of the workers is an essential element for the triumph of the working class. It is critical for working people to organise themselves independently of all capitalist interests. This is not just  sloganising, but the reality of the world we live in. The Scottish "national interest" is simply the interest of capital within Scotland. It is the interest of the Scottish ruling class. Nationalism distorts class struggles. Workers can waste their time supporting parties that openly stand for capitalism; they can delude themselves into believing that there is a half way house between capitalism and socialism; they can even bury their heads in the sand and say they are not interested in politics. Or they can study the case for world socialism. They have the choice of enduring the miseries of capitalism within the confines of national frontiers or enjoying emancipation in a socialist world. The alternative to Scottish nationalism is not British unionism. Because one "nation" rules another, one does not have to chose one or the other. Socialism is the self-liberation of working class people, by their own efforts, creating and using their own organisations. As we live in Scotland we struggle for socialism here.

The fact that nationalism is a dead-end does not stop people going down it. The idea of the division of humanity into nations is etched into people’s consciousness under capitalism. If one national state fails them, the easiest thing is to turn to the idea of creating a new nation. Independence seems to offer a quick way for people to break from the hold of a Tory government and the effects of Britain’s recessions and austerity policies and so support for nationalism has grown. Nationalist influence is greatest where demoralisation among workers is strongest. The political field is left to those who preach nationalism when the economic battle-ground is deserted. Nevertheless, the parties that established new capitalist states means inevitably them turning against their own workers. When the nationalist frenzy fades, the economic problems – and with them the class struggle – suddenly move back to the centre of the stage.

The independence-then-socialism strategy doesn’t bring us closer to socialism, only farther away from it. We’re not going to get any closer to socialism by strengthening the SNP, a party that represents the interests of Scottish business. Whether they like it or not, the left nationalists by giving the SNP conditional and tactical support end up in class collaboration, supporting the ‘lesser evil’. By refusing to subordinate the national struggle to the class struggle for socialism, their option helps keep capitalism alive.