Yes, you are quite correct in that my arguments are mostly tangential; they are in fact just that. It's pretty clear that I'm coming from the much broader pers

Yes, you are quite correct in that my arguments are mostly tangential; they are in fact just that. It's pretty clear that I'm coming from the much broader perspective of the very real problems of modern-day democratic politics, and I did say that I was 'at the risk of oversimplifying these complex issues', and it seems from your comments, that perhaps I did over do it. As a sociologist you will be cognizant of the fact that every survey taken in democratic countries in recent times about governance and democracy shows that about 80% of the population seriously claim that democracy has failed them. As I see it, it's a huge problem and I agree that the Catalonian issue is a small and almost significant part of that. I'd only add that I'm old enough to vividly remember the horrible bombing and killings in that part of the world and thus I've developed a long-held view that with the 'right' triggers that they could easily happen again.