Leon Trotsky once said that “every state is founded on force.” It’s an unpleasant truth that we would all rather forget, but it’s important to bear in mind as the fight between Spain and Catalonia intensifies.
Images from the weekend of Spanish police obstructing – and at times beating – would-be voters in Catalonia’s (technically illegal) independence referendum contravene the basic tenets of classical liberalism, the political ideology upon which the West was built. How, the virtuous cry, can such a thing be possible in Europe in the 21st century?
If you ignore 20th-century European history, it’s a fair question. Raising the question doesn’t change the fact that Catalonia is a nation, not a state, and it won’t become a state anytime soon because it will not be able to claim, as Max Weber described it, “the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”
A Long Shot .............To read this post - Catalonia, Spain’s Internal Affair
My Take - All this is true, this vote is meaningless, there will be violence, and Catalonia will be just what it is now. Spain has no choice - take a look at the map. This issue is a festering sore in more regions than just Catalonia. Spain, in order to remain a viable country, must crush this effort. However, what happens when Europe explodes everywhere in what I believe will be in the near future over immigration and the Islamification of Europe? Not to mention what I believe will be a worldwide economic downturn.
We may see Europe go back to Medieval times when all these regions were more or less considered countries with their own rulers, called either Dukes, Barons, etc. at that time. In France at one time the King of France controlled not much more than the area around Paris. That kind of mentality could return since Europe isn't like the United States where all the States - and the citizens of those States - consider themselves Americans. The people of the world live in communities - call them tribes if you will - many of which speak their own language, have different cultural values and don't fit in with the identity of their national boundaries. Spain is just one small example.
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