4 ms·

If the Catalans follow the lead of Gandhi they won't need foreign support. If I was a Catalan independence supporter I would advocate for people to pay the pro

If the Catalans follow the lead of Gandhi they won't need foreign support. If I was a Catalan independence supporter I would advocate for people to pay the pro rata portion of their taxes that would be allocated to the Catalan region directly to the Catalan government (if they are in exile or not). If 40% of Catalans did this, income tax, VAT, etc, then this matter would come to a head within one year. The EU would have to concede or then sanction violence. They can't afford to lock up 40% of the population and they can't afford to lose the revenue. Obviously the money would need to be sent to a repository that was outside of Madrid's or Brussels's reach. CatCoin anyone? Cryptocurrencies might be the modern equivalent of Gandhi's Salt March; remove the state's monopoly control of commerce.

charlysl 9y ago
The thing is, and I believe this is key, the relationship is not a colonial one at all, of submission to an alien foreign power. And there is no way the democratic spanish government would react like the colonial british one. Nor would the spanish people tolerate such a heavy handed approach, I dont think there is hatred, just bewilderement. That was also part of a wider process, that of decolonitation. What is going on here isn't anything like that, I think Gandhi's strategy worked partially because of the historical context.
- tankenmate 9y ago
  My view obviously is different, I view it as a matter of self determination. To me whether it is a matter of colonialisation is largely immaterial. The reason Gandhi's method works is because it leaves only two options, kill the complainants or acquiesce. Authority comes from submission, if someone does not submit to you then you have no authority over them; your only choice then is to either kill them or let them be. So if a sizeable percentage of Catalans come to the point of willing to risk everything to no longer submit to Madrid then Madrid will have only two options. Whether Brussels would allow the first of those two options is rather obvious. As with the vast majority of things in this life, the most committed wins.
Oletros 9y ago
Why would the independence be conced with just 40% of people defending it?
- tankenmate 9y ago
  Minority Rules: Why 10 Percent is All You Need [0] So if you have 40% who are committed to it no matter what then it will happen. The reason I bring up the 40% is because in most recent polls that is the amount that is usually quoted as supporting succession. [0] http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-why-10-percent-is-all-you-need/ http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-why-10-per...
  - Oletros 9y ago
    Pretty rule, but it has not happened in Catalonia. And what the rule says is that it will spread, not that is enough to declare independence of a territory when 60% of the population is against it. When the percentage is 60% or more, we can start talking about inevitability

charlysl 9y ago

The thing is, and I believe this is key, the relationship is not a colonial one at all, of submission to an alien foreign power. And there is no way the democratic spanish government would react like the colonial british one. Nor would the spanish people tolerate such a heavy handed approach, I dont think there is hatred, just bewilderement. That was also part of a wider process, that of decolonitation. What is going on here isn't anything like that, I think Gandhi's strategy worked partially because of the historical context.

tankenmate 9y ago
My view obviously is different, I view it as a matter of self determination. To me whether it is a matter of colonialisation is largely immaterial. The reason Gandhi's method works is because it leaves only two options, kill the complainants or acquiesce. Authority comes from submission, if someone does not submit to you then you have no authority over them; your only choice then is to either kill them or let them be. So if a sizeable percentage of Catalans come to the point of willing to risk everything to no longer submit to Madrid then Madrid will have only two options. Whether Brussels would allow the first of those two options is rather obvious. As with the vast majority of things in this life, the most committed wins.

Oletros 9y ago

Why would the independence be conced with just 40% of people defending it?

tankenmate 9y ago
Minority Rules: Why 10 Percent is All You Need [0] So if you have 40% who are committed to it no matter what then it will happen. The reason I bring up the 40% is because in most recent polls that is the amount that is usually quoted as supporting succession. [0] http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-why-10-percent-is-all-you-need/ http://freakonomics.com/2011/07/28/minority-rules-why-10-per...
- Oletros 9y ago
  Pretty rule, but it has not happened in Catalonia. And what the rule says is that it will spread, not that is enough to declare independence of a territory when 60% of the population is against it. When the percentage is 60% or more, we can start talking about inevitability