Why I want independence for Catalonia
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Version 0 of 1. I am Catalan and I have two reasons to want Catalonia to become an independent state as soon as possible. The first is to improve the quality of our democracy, and the second is to preserve and foster cultural diversity. Having a smaller political unit allows greater democratic accountability. The determinants and consequences of political decisions can be better grasped at a smaller scale because the citizens have first-hand knowledge of the issues at stake: decisions that affect the landscape, conflicts among different social groups, the allocation of resources, alternative sources of energy, the potential for economic development of specific areas. Having first-hand knowledge of these issues at the grassroots level does not exclude experts from being hired, when needed, to study certain problems and propose solutions, but it allows the people to have a much better critical appraisal of the experts’ work and their proposals. The quality of this critical appraisal corresponds to the quality of a democracy. Most citizens in a small country the size of Catalonia (32,000 sq km with 7.5 million inhabitants) not only have an objective knowledge of the issues at stake with regard to particular political decisions, but – most important – are subjectively involved in them. They care about them because these decisions will – one way or another – directly impact on their lives or on those of the people they love. A smaller political unit allows for a more humane political experience. In a smaller country, social activists and people working at the grassroots level have a greater chance of knowing each other personally and being able to pass on to each other relevant information in a direct manner; they also have a greater chance of knowing most of their political representatives personally. Besides the structural link between size and democracy, I see contingent reasons that make me expect that an independent Catalonia will enjoy a better democracy. The “indignados” movement in Spain, which started in 2011, has identified many deficiencies in the country’s democracy: corruption is rampant and not being adequately investigated; the financing of the political parties is not transparent; there is no mechanism to depose political representatives who contradict their political programme and rule against the will of the people who voted for them; people are evicted from their homes by the same banks that profited from the rescue money provided by the European Union (the banks are rescued, the people are not); the health system is being privatised against the will of the majority; rich people pay comparatively less tax than those who are poor; renewable energy is not being developed despite there being enough natural resources and a popular will to do so; and city halls are being stripped of their decision-making power. Independence for Catalonia is no guarantee that these issues will be resolved, but having to write and approve a new constitution would be a unique opportunity to work towards solutions to these problems in a much more comprehensive and radical way than is possible in an already constituted state. Many in Catalonia expect that the process of drafting a new constitution will elicit a political debate from the bottom up that could radically rethink our economic system, so that in the new Catalonia people and their basic needs cannot be treated as commodities. Many also expect a radical rethinking of our political system, so that institutions empower the people instead of stifling them with bureaucracy. Along with improving the quality of our democracy, my other motivation in wanting independence for Catalonia is the fostering of cultural diversity. I do not consider our language, traditions and history better than anybody else’s and I do not consider them in any way pure or able to be distinguished essentially from those of any other group of people. Our language and traditions are the result of complex processes of cultural cross-fertilisation and, as long as they are alive, I expect them to continue happily resisting rigid definition. In their contingency and fluidity, they contribute to the world’s cultural diversity, and I expect the government of an independent Catalonia to celebrate and foster them in a much more congenial way than the Spanish central government currently does. |