"Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark" - Hamlet

As a mostly self-taught philosopher and historian I see a glaring inconsistency in the state of the realm. We have a much-vaunted politically democratic system of government in which there is little true democracy, and where the views of the man or woman in the street are heard and tolerated, but not considered with a modicum of seriousness or intent at redressing inequalities and injustices which abound.

We see the effect that globalisation and mass-marketing has had on the rural economy and the distribution of goods, when Welsh lamb is consumed in New Zealand and New Zealand lamb is consumed in Wales (example only), where Welsh milk is transported to Peterborough for bottling, eventually finding its way back to Wales for stocking the supermarket shelves in time for the early morning cup of tea and cornflakes. Consider the effects upon the environment, the climate and the economy, with giant transporters thundering along the highways as if taking coals to Newcastle, and the giant tankers and cargo ships ploughing their way across the oceans when produce could be obtained locally, and not from far-distant locations.

We see a society that is imploding as it struggles to cope with immigration, overcrowded prisons, vandalism and violent and anti-social behaviour, drunkenness and drug-related problems. We see a government that has lost its way, and which has mismanaged the resources at its disposal. We note the cutbacks and withdrawal of basic services, particularly in the rural areas, the closures of schools, hospitals and post-offices, the rise in taxation and council taxes and the intention to charge for rubbish disposal and recycling. We see green belts being turned into housing developments, often judiciously sited on flood plains.

The real reason behind devolution seems to be that centralised government has lost control of society and its needs and values. Therefore the obvious step is to devolve powers to the “regions”, where decisions will be taken on a local level. Yet the government controls the purse-strings and is more oriented towards major prestige projects such as the Olympic Games and Trident missile systems than to solving the fundamental problems of outlying communities far from the booming South-East hub.

The eventual resolution to this disastrous state of affairs has already been set in motion in Scotland with the election to government of the SNP. Only when canny and far-sighted policies are delivered to the people of the nations of the Celtic periphery will it be seen that the path to independence is the path to reconstruction of damaged and corrupted societies whose values and traditions will once more be restored to take a central place in the bosom of the respective nations.