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RE: Catalan Crackdown. - The events in Spain could reignite a wave of separatist movements across Europe. Who else wants out?
Catalonia is different to all of the examples that you listed because they have wealth and political strength.
Catalonia is the richest region in Spain, and their government is much more popular that the Madrid government is nationwide. They have both the resources and the political capital to navigate the choppy waters of independence, and I wish them all the best.
Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Veneto and Scotland (after oil prices crashed) are all significantly poorer than other regions in the state they are trying to leave. Ultimately, the citizens will vote with their wallets rather than take the plunge.
Yes they provide 20% of Spanish GDP.
Your premise is more than likely correct until times of severe economic hardship in which case all bets are off. It'll be interesting to see how the fledgling movements do when the SHTF.
Cheers buddy.
I suspect that disadvantaged regions of nations have even more reason than those better off to vote with their wallets against remaining in nations. Particularly if there is significant plunder, such plundering tends to victimize the poorest, and least able to resist being plundered, most. It is the poor, more than anyone, that suffers most the slings and arrows of centralization.
The wealthiest tend to get that way through plunder. It is for this reason that I expect Catalonia's bid for independence to be quelled via economics, rather than through violence.
Except the government of Spain appears not to understand this, and are therefore driving Catalonia out of their nation with outrageous violence.
TBQH, there are many tradeoffs the poor make, as rising tides lift all boats, and despite regressive taxation and various penalties the poor pay in remaining parties to central governments, there are also many benefits that would be missed were they to be excluded from nationality.