tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191792642137667169.post7085778246488091318..comments2023-07-25T05:17:59.778-07:00Comments on Spectator: Independence? - Don't Make Me LaughJim Fairliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520849145092267490noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4191792642137667169.post-4341104152538240132022-06-23T01:59:12.459-07:002022-06-23T01:59:12.459-07:00You refer to Switzerland valuing the concept of a ...You refer to Switzerland valuing the concept of a nation state but do not appear to realise that the way that modern Switzerland was created undermines a simplistic idea as to what constitutes a nation and could equally well be used to support a unionist argument.<br />Contrary to British and American myths about centuries of peace, the cantons that make up Switzerland were involved in several wars with other states and with each other prior to 1848. In 1847 seven cantons tried to secede and were defeated by the majority. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderbund_War . An indicator as to how different these cantons were is that a common currency was not created until 1850 and that even today the cultural differences between cantons of Switzerland are greater than those between Scotland and England. (I speak from experience as a Swiss from Basle, which is Swiss-German and Protestant, who also lived in Vaud which is French- speaking and Protestant and in Valais which is Catholic and split between German and French speakers but who has also lived in England and Scotland.)<br />In other words, if the seccessionists had not lost in 1847, there would be no Switzerland. The implication is that the equivalent polity (to use a neutral term) to Switzerland is not Scotland but Britain. Swiss cantons have different constitutions, legal and educational systems, histories, languages (although there are some with more than one language) tax systems, and above all, religious traditions (the origin of the 1847 war). Instead, in 1848 the cantons moved towards cooperating more closely.<br />Thus, if Switzerland is a success, it could be argued that it is largely a success because independence was sacrificed as a means of promoting peace and harmony. The situation prior to 1847 would be more akin to that which Scotland and England had between 1603 and 1707: after the union of crowns but before the Act of Union. After 1848 the cantons moved to closer cooperation and the result was modern Switzerland.Stephen Sennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02626984605433782027noreply@blogger.com