Scotland? No such country!: How nationalism distracts from economic leadership

The sources for national identity are considered in terms of five factors: language, religion, economy, geography and a common enemy. National feelings of countries such as Nazi Germany, Sri Lanka, the Kurds and ISIL are analysed first before a closer inspection of the validity of Scotland as a country. Four ethnolinguistic groups are identified at the battles of Falkirk and Bannockburn: Norman French, Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Northumbrian Saxons. The only difference that emerges is that the Scots dialect of English remains closer to German than does standard English.
The author argues that nationalism represents an avoidance of very pressing economic tasks: the country needs to recoup more wealth from private capital and redistribute it for the common good. Other priorities include reducing population growth, anticipating new infectious diseases, and food and energy security. Methods for recouping capital include multinational approaches to preventing tax avoidance, and reasserting the role of the state as banker for public housing. The need for left-of-centre economic leadership is seen as pressing in a UK election year.