The problems posed by independence are not directly economic, but are related to the capitalist economy through a series of mediations.
the entire issue of independence still feels slightly alien to most socialists and trade unionists, as if it were an irrelevance or distraction from our proper role of ighting austerity and expressing solidarity with the oppressed. Socialists may wish they were not faced with this issue, which many clearly regard as a diversion from more serious matters. But we are rarely granted the luxury of deciding the terrain upon which we have to ight. To evade the issue by afecting abstention between independence and the status quo is, in efect, to opt for the latter while pretending to be hostile to both. The likely outcome is a ‘no’ vote, although in a closer race than is currently being predicted. But this is unlikely to be the end of the matter. It is essential, then, that the Left establish which reasons for supporting independence are valid and which are not, since we will be required to argue them again. In the meantime, the question of what kind of Scotland we want to see, and how we can ight for it now, regardless of the constitutional situation, might provide a bridge between sections of the Left currently divided by it.