Louis Proyect wrote:
Michael, I am not sure you are keeping up with the Marxism list archives,
but there was an interesting thread recently on Southern regionalism. In
the course of dredging up some material that illustrated the danger of the
left tail-ending neo-Confederate ideologues, I came across a perversely
interesting website: http://www.homerule-for-dixie.com/ website. It
appropriates of Scottish nationalist themes on behalf of the rebel South,
which might make one think twice about uncritical endorsement of certain
themes expressed by the Scottish left.
=====
Yuk.
When Mel Gibson released "Braveheart" I remember reading articles about how
inspiring KKK-types thought it was, as they re-appropriated their Celtic
heritage, as opposed to their Anglo-Saxon heritage (so much for racial
purity).
The trouble with this line of argument, that Scottish nationalists should
refrain from nationalism because of its ill-effects in England or Dixie, is
that it misses the point somewhat. It only goes to show that, like I said,
without any Marxian input, we know where such movements are likely to lead.
Scottish nationalism _per se_ is as corny (at best) and dangerous (at worst)
as the rest. But the fact that, despite the Act of Union of 1707 there
remained a framework within which progressives could and can work to
democratise the state provided the opportunity to weaken a reactionary UK
state. And unlike the Dixie separatists or the English nationalists feared
by J.G.A. Pocock, for example, the Scottish Socialist Party is not
campaigning for the exclusion of people of colour nor for the mandatory
celebration of shortbread tin culture. I doubt that you'll be seeing much in
the way of common themes between the SSP and the "Freedom for Dixie" crowd.
Michael K.
