Executive Decision

When I first thought of doing this blog, initially my thought was to write about the three global issues I mentioned in my introduction post, with a twist of how that impacts on Scotland. But I soon realised that this would be a waste of my time (and probably yours). Huge volumes have already been written on resource depletion, climate change and the woes of the global economy. Spend a short time googling these topics (in particular the biggest of them all perhaps - peak oil) and you'll find a wealth of information at your fingertips. See "global issues" to the right; these are among my favourite sources. I can't stress enough what an excellent resource the crash course series of videos on YouTube is. It's free to watch and comes in mostly bite-size pieces - it'll have you up to speed in no time.

So – executive decision. There's no point in me re-hashing what has been written before by many different writers. I believe the intention for this blog needs to be flipped on its head towards something that focuses on the little part of the world I know best: Scotland, with a twist of what these global issues mean for us and our future. And in particular, what they mean when viewed through the prism of the impending independence referendum. Time is, after all, marching on, and these are issues that I've not seen applied in the context of the referendum yet. And believe me, I spend a lot of time reading about the referendum! Please inform me in the comments if there's something I've missed – I'd love to see it.

In fact, I'm bringing these arguments rather late to the party. I could have started this blog months ago but I wrestled for a long time with whether I should. These issues do not make for light reading. It's possible when trawling around the internet for articles on peak oil and climate change to turn the bleakness dial all the way up to 11, and the Yes campaign for Scotland's independence has always been one of positivity and hope. I was uncomfortable with souring the tone.

But awareness is half the battle. Being more aware of what we face is another crucial reason to have the freedom to re-invent Scotland as a response to it. There is no reason why the same positivity and hope we see in the Yes campaign cannot be diverted to another cause post-independence: the cause of transition to sustainability. We want independence for the good of generations to come. Our work must go on until we have a country fit for these generations to thrive in.

The three Es (energy, environment, economy) are issues that will impact every part of the world – including ours. How we deal with them, whether as an independent country or as part of the UK, is vitally important. I believe we have an incredible opportunity, with the possibility of independence before us, to begin building a new, resilient nation that can face these issues head-on and begin to tackle them in a way that few others could. We have reserves of oil and we have a massive potential for renewable energy. How many other countries can claim that and have the chance to re-imagine themselves – to set themselves up in a way that is optimal to face a problematic future?

I can't remember the particular article I was reading when I made the connection that peak oil and the demise of the global economy could have a direct tie to Scotland's eventual independence, but I do remember the gist - that economic collapse will lead to political collapse. In other words, when the economy fails hard enough, governments get thrown out. Change can and will happen. Sometimes that change can be quite radical in nature. Sometimes it may even lead to the break-up of nation states and the re-configuration of national boundaries.

So should September deliver a No vote, a break-up of the UK may be possible, even likely, in the years to come anyway. But what if the UK manages to hang together? Is it not possible that the UK will eventually be forced to address these issues? Should we not confront them together anyway, pooling our strength and resources, a key unionist argument?

I don't think so. For a start time is too short, and the UK is already mortally wounded. With a debt load of over £1.2 trillion (watch it spin here), the UK is simply unsustainable. The UK economy is one huge game of spinning plates, kept aloft by the manipulation and chicanery of a cohort of financial tricksters in London. Sooner or later (likely sooner) it will come crashing down, most likely torpedoed by the superheated London property market.

Einstein said “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” Leaving our fate in hands of the same London establishment that got us where we are is not going to extricate us from the predicaments we face, nor will they prepare us for the difficult future barreling down towards us. They are hopelessly and institutionally corrupt, a cartel of self-interested careerists who long ago dispelled any notion of public service, if it was ever there to begin with. They are obsessed with sucking all wealth in towards them like a financial black sun, in full knowledge, I'm sure, of the uncertainty to come. As for us, as far as they're concerned it's every man, woman and child for themselves.

So be it. In Scotland we have this incredible opportunity. We have to prepare ourselves, and so we must have the ability to elect who we choose to have any chance of doing so. And only by delivering the shock therapy to the London power-money that Scottish independence will deliver can we hope to open a window to the kind of change the rest of these isles desperately needs.

I hope to post at least weekly. In the next post I'd like to put forward the opinion that the future we're about to have served to us is not what is commonly expected, and why the UK is unfit for purpose within it.

Hello.

My name is Gus Steedman. For more than twenty years, I have made my living writing computer programs. Writing for machines. During all that time though, I'd rather have been writing for people. Time to get started.

Since 2004 I have been a near-insatiable consumer of a certain type of blog. Almost every day, I would spend my lunch hour and sometimes evenings avidly searching for and devouring any new post from my selected group of authors, my growing obsession soon expanding to books, podcasts and documentary films. About time then, I thought recently, that I should create a blog of my own with my own perspective on these subjects - particularly since my perspective may be unique. I am a Scot living at a pivotal time for Scotland. I am a sufferer of secondary progressive MS, my own gradual loss of function a strange analogy for a planet and civilisation also in decline.

 Er... say what?!

Now for the difficult part. Unless you're very wealthy, or have just not been paying attention, you may have noticed that since the start of this century, and especially since the financial crash of 2008, a lot of things in the world around us have been starting to... well, suck. The poor are getting poorer. The rich are getting richer. Wars and other atrocities flare up with mindless regularity. Inequality is rising. Cuts are being made to welfare programs and salaries (except for bankers). Oh, and jobs are disappearing. Even the shitty ones.

There's many reasons for all this. A corrupt and rapacious financial sector, matched equally by selfish and nefarious government is the obvious one. While this is an important subject, there are three things that underlie it; that may even go some way to explaining it. They are:

1. Resource depletion
2. Global economic collapse
3. Accelerating climate change

These three subjects, in my opinion and in many much more qualified others', will come to be the defining hammer blows of the 21st century. Yet the mainstream media covers each to varying degrees. In particular the first gets barely any mention at all, while many of the bleakest details of the others are glossed over or ignored. Understandable perhaps - there aren't many feelgood stories to be found here when the facts are fully explored. However we owe it to ourselves to confront the growing precariousness of our situation; we cannot prepare for the future that is now unfolding otherwise. It is a future that is likely to be very different to the vision of continuous progress and technological improvement that we all take for granted. We hear often that flying cars and vacations in space are right around the corner. I'm afraid they're most likely not, so one use I have in mind for this blog to share why I think that way.

The other use is to present my views on Scottish independence. In September this year, we have a vote to decide yes or no to the restoration of our sovereignty. I will be voting yes, for all the many great reasons put forth by the Yes campaign and the amazing grassroots movement I'm honoured to feel part of. But I have another reason - one perhaps not commonly voiced. My study of the global issues above has led me to believe that as the coming years and decades unfold, the nations and states we know now will inevitably fragment and collapse.

In my opinion, Scotland's independence in the midst of the coming global maelstrom is unavoidable, despite the referendum result. A no vote simply delays the inevitable, and takes us there down a chaotic, difficult path as the UK increasingly fails around us. Far better to vote yes now and take a chance at managing our way to being a small nation fit for the many difficult challenges of the 21st century.

The future is local, not global. I'll detail what I mean by that in future posts. And as for Scotland, what is independence if not a re-localisation of government?

Back soon, and thanks for reading.


For a headstart in many of the issues mentioned above, Chris Martenson's crash course series of videos on YouTube is highly recommended.