◼ (I)n the end, three centuries of union were preserved, and it wasn’t even close. Turnout was huge, and the final tally came in 55 percent against independence, 45 percent in favor. - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o
...Some interpret the failure of centralization as the death knell for large and diverse nations. Even liberals are prone to bang out “America is ungovernable” screeds when they’re frustrated about not getting their way, or when they’re trying to cover for the latest Big Government failure. The answer may instead lie in decentralizing power to preserve national unions, shifting both power and responsibility to local governments. This has the immediate beneficial effect of making voters feel better-represented, as smaller governments they can more readily influence grow more significant than the distant national capital. It makes the people in different states or regions less prone to resent one another. It breaks up the lobbyist and special-interest domination just about everyone, across the political spectrum, professes to hate… but which is inherent to big, centralized government.
And perhaps most importantly, decentralization gives citizens a greater sense of both control and responsibility for their own fates – something the Scottish independence movement spoke passionately, even poetically about – while also giving those unhappy with local rule an easy way to withdraw their consent without leaving the nation. The Scots have a golden opportunity to use the enhanced powers coming their way to make Scotland a proud example of successful government within the United Kingdom. I hope they do such a bang-up job that the rest of the U.K. ends up wishing they could be more like the Scots....
◼ Why Americans—and the West—Should Care About Scottish Secession - Weekly Standard
