Why sci-fi author Charles Stross is voting for Scottish independence


Charles Stross, author of such sci-fi classics as The Laundry Files and Accelerando, is also a resident of Scotland. Today he has a brilliant, extensive explanation of the vagaries of British history and politics that have led to increasing alienation and distrust between England and Scotland, and may well lead to their separation. You should really read the whole thing, but here's the upshot. It's dark:
So the worst case outcome, circa 2017, is that Scotland remains manacled to an England that has voted in a government of the Home Counties, who despise the Scots, and who have successfully campaigned for a referendum in which the English protest vote determines that Scotland will be dragged out of the EU in a vain attempt to wind the clock back to an imaginary vision of a 1950s conservative utopia that never was. Or Scotland might remain part of a UK, but one where when push came to shove the racist right took a kicking in the 2015 election and the softer right wing government of New Labour is back in charge and the loons are exiled to the fringes again, and the country is at least open for business.
Which brings me to the punch-line: I'll be voting "yes" for an independent Scotland in September. Not with great enthusiasm (as I noted earlier, if Devo Max was on the ballot I'd be voting for that) but because everything I see around me suggests that there is some very bad craziness in the near future of England, and I don't want the little country I live in to be dragged down the rabbit hole by the same dark forces of reaction that are cropping up across Europe, from Hungary to Greece. The failure modes of democracy, it seems to me, are less damaging the smaller the democracy. [Antipope.org]
Yikes. When sensible people start arguing convincingly in favor of cleaving nations in twain simply to limit the damage should things go completely pear-shaped, we've truly entered an age of diminished expectations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
Critics' choice: Three takes on tavern dining
Feature A second Minetta Tavern, A 1946 dining experience, and a menu with a mission
By The Week US
-
Film reviews: Warfare and A Minecraft Movie
Feature A combat film that puts us in the thick of it and five misfits fall into a cubic-world adventure
By The Week US
-
What to know before lending money to family or friends
the explainer Ensure both your relationship and your finances remain intact
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans