ALLIANCE MARXIST-LENINIST
(NORTH AMERICA) NUMBER 39:
ISSUE MAY 2001:
PART THREE: SCOTLAND FROM ERA OF FINANCE IMPERIALISM TO 'GLOBALISATION'


i) Scottish Industry Inside the British State
Synopsis: After the 1707 Union with England, there was a rapid growth of Scottish commerce and industry. Scotland became the 'world's workshop' leading Britain in heavy industry, especially ship-building. All British industry became dominant in the world, up to the First World War, due to Britain's colonies.

    Following the Union of 1707, there was a rapid increase in population. At first, the primary growth was in the rural areas where new farming techniques could be applied after the new landowners expropriated the communal land. But the industries soon grew as well:

"The increase in population in Scotland during the 18th century is closely related to the quickening of economic activity following the Act of Union. In contrast to the pre-1700 era… the record of the 18th century is one of almost continuous growth. The net gain recorded during the century was about 600,000 …… The major part of this increase in population was absorbed by the countryside, reflecting the impact of new forms of land use. There was also significant growth in the big towns."
Burgess, Keith: in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.91.
    Burgess argues that the terms under which Scottish capital became wealthy, were one of avoiding competition with English capital. It is his contention that this "complementary" rather than directly "competitive" means of production gave it a "client status". However, for capitalists it makes sense to avoid competition if the capitalist cannot directly wage competition. That Scottish entrepreneurs took newer technology and instituted heavy industrial patterns to avoid competition, does not constitute its status as a "dependent capital". It was admittedly a "shrewd capital". As Burgess himself points out: "What was crucial to Scotland’s rapid rate of industrialization after 1830 was the singular abundance of opportunities for forms of economic activity that were complementary to developments in England, created not only by the growth of the British market as a whole but sustained by the opening up of markets abroad. This had significant implications for the product mix of Scottish industry, including its product cycle. After 1830, the Scottish economy became increasingly geared to the manufacture of a highly specialised and intricately related mix of heavy industry products…An examination of the phasing of Scotland’s industrial development shows a recurrent pattern of innovation, the rapid saturation of the domestic market, and rising export volumes: a pattern that typified consecutively, the textiles, pig iron and shipbuilding industries."
Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.90.
    Ship-building in particular ‘relied on’ an expanding world trade that Britain as a whole was ideally placed to develop. Not only was the growth in Scotland purely an industrial growth. Indeed by 1850, Scotland had become a financial power as well: "An important exporter of capital in its own right";
Burgess K; in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p183.
    The English and Scottish economy was becoming welded into one British whole: "The growing commitment of Scots capital to heavy industry tied its fortunes very closely to the unique position of ascendancy enjoyed by British capitalism in relation to the world economy. Paradoxically therefore the increasing integration or assimilation of Scotland to a system of internal trading relation, controlled effectively by the City of London, served to intensify Scotland’s distinctiveness as a region of the British economy."
Burgess K; In Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.90.
    Scottish capital had some advantages to English capital in the years up to 1900. Firstly, for the textile trade in the early 1800’s, the unemployment rate in Scotland was higher than in England: "The combined effects of depopulation in the Highlands resulting from the Clearances…. And the beginnings of the waves of migration form Ireland swelled the labour supply ready to work at low wages in the cotton manufacture of the Glasgow –Paisley area…There is little doubt that it was the abundance of the ‘reserve army’ of the labour which enabled capitalists in the Scottish textile industries to obtain workers at a lower wage that was the case in England, and this helps explain hwy the domestic system survived relatively late in Scotland… lower money wages in Scotland were offset by lower living costs."
Burgess K; Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.185-186.
    Secondly: Although early on in the pig-iron industry after 1830, there was a large deposit of iron ore in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, this was inferior to Welsh and English pig-iron which relied on iron ore that was purer. However, James Beaumont Neilson, manger of Glasgow Gasworks, pioneered the injection of ‘hot blast’ air in the Clyde Ironworks. This "at one stroke": "Overcame the problems caused by the Scottish iron industry’s high fuel costs with the result that the Scots iron-masters acquired an important cost-advantage over the their English and Welsh competitors… the hot blast was capital-saving, reducing capital costs in Scotland by as much as 25%… The Scots ironmasters also benefited from the earlier development of local joint-stock banking with the Western Bank of Scotland."
Burgess K; in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.187-88.
    Finally, this predominance led to an increased specialty in ship-building based on the Clyde River: "The rise of Clydeside as the single most important ship-building centre in the UK……. The natural advantage of a river location opening up on the North Atlantic trade routes was combined with the abundance of cheap local iron that was fed form the furnaces of Lanarkshire to the Clyde by the Monklands Canal, Expertise in machine making, and especially the development of steam power had been [already] acquired…. Again the large reservoir or labour in the West of London in contrast to London".
Burgess K; in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p191-192
    By the 1870’s a finance-imperialist group of capitalists were established in Scotland, and they are "rentiers", who are exporting both commodities and capital: "The innovations in shipbuilding created an integrated world market for commodities labour and above all capital. Thus by the 1870’s it is possible to discern a group of identifiably rentier Scots bourgeoisie, with holdings overseas in a diverse range of activities like US railroads, Australian land companies and Indian tea plantations."
Burgess K; in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.93.
    Lenin apparently agreed that the "rentier" class had taken hold of Scotland, and did not dispute its being part of a united Great Britain:     Still it is often heard that a Scottish capital was impeded as it was so "specialized". But this was consistent with the operation of the law of uneven development. This universal law dictates capitalist development and cannot be ignored in favour of a supposed ‘colonial relationship’ in Scotland’s industries.
    By 1914-5, there had been an effective fusion of the economies of the two countries. But the special nature of its industry meant that Scotland would be vulnerable should there be a decline in Britain’s share of the world markets: "The process of fusion between the economies of Scotland and England was already well advanced. Although Scottish capital had been very much the junior partner of English imperial power, Scotland in the 19th Century still constituted a distinct national economy. The Scottish economy probably had a greater economic autonomy at that time than have many industrializing countries today. Some companies had transferred their headquarters to London or had amalgamated with English concerns, but others notably Coats and Distillers were dominant in the British and world markets for their products. Nevertheless the changing international balance of economic power and the encroachment of English capital were beginning to make themselves felt on the Scottish economy. While the period up to 1914 can be characterized as a story of ‘success’ of Scottish capital, this success was laying the seeds of the problems which were later to mark the development of the Scottish economy,. The over-dependence on heavy industry and the massive flow of capital abroad meant that Scottish capital failed to move into the newer growth industries which were to become so important after the First World War."
Scott J and Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London; 1980; pp.54-55.
    Undoubtedly the depression following First World War was more heavily felt in Scotland, than in the rest of Great Britain. As British industry struggled to keep pace with the German and USA imperialist, it tried to re-tool and begin re-mechanisation. This led to the struggle over ‘dilution’ – the process where unskilled labour was allowed into the work-place alongside the previous skilled workers. Engels discusses this process as having been resisted by the old ‘aristocratic’ workers, and how it was challenged by the New Unions (See "May 4th in London" 1890; "Letter to F.A.Sorge April 19, 1890"; at:  http://www.geocities.com/hari6kumar/engels_finaluk.html ).

    At the end of the First World War, the whole of British industry was in decline and needed to catch up with ‘newer’ more modern imperialist states, as the Comintern recognised:

"29. The British Empire seems to be at the height of its' power. It has maintained its former possessions and gained new ones. But it is precisely now that the contradiction between England’s predominant position in the world and its real economic decline becomes apparent." Comintern; July 1921: "Theses on World Situation and the Tasks of the Comintern"; adopted Third Congress Comintern; Cited by Jane Degras; "The Communist International, Documents 1919-43"; London; Volume 1"; 1971; p. 235.     This struggle in part, led to the Scottish attempts in Clydeside to shore up the position of the skilled workers by a widespread strike movement. It was this movement that brought John MacLean to prominence, as Lenin gave him the title Honorary Consul for the Soviet Republic. Despite MacLean’s admiration of both Lenin and the CPSU(B), he turned his back upon Lenin’s explicit advice both to himself and to William Gallacher, to help build the Communist Party Great Britain (CPGB). Gallacher joined the CPGB, but MacLean set up the Scottish Workers Republican Party, which advocated separation from England because of a strategic possibility of spoiling England’s later war with the USA: "Britain may soon be in a war with the USA, and it will be worse than the last….. The preparations to use the Scottish coast and Scottish lads in John Bull’s fight with Uncle Sam forces us the policy of a complete political separation from England. Hence a Scottish Communist Party." John MacLean; Cited in McLean, Iain  : "The Legend of red Clydeside"; Edinburgh; 1983; p. 150.     Again, Lenin did not counsel the CPGB to adopt a policy of separation. The decline was not unique in Scotland, and it was part of a more general crisis within British Capital. Stalin identified this readily, when discussing the causes of the great 1926 General Strike.
    As Stalin recognised in 1926, the Scottish working class was only one part of the British working class, and he saw its actions in the General Strike of 1926 as a united single struggle. The causes of the strike were the same causes of the depression in the Scottish economy. Namely the decline of British imperialism:  "Britain formerly occupied a monopoly position among the capitalist states. Owning a number of huge colonies, and having what for those days was an exemplary industry, it was able to parade as the "workshop of the world" and to rake in vast super-profits. That was the period of "peace and prosperity" in Britain. Capital raked in super-profits, crumbs from those super-profits fell to the share of the top section of the British labour movement, the leaders of the British labour movement were gradually tamed by capital, and conflicts between labour and capital were usually settled by compromise.
    But the further development of world capitalism, especially the development of Germany, America and, in part, of Japan, which entered the world market as competitors of Britain, radically undermined Britain's former monopoly position. The war and the post-war crisis dealt a further decisive blow to Britain's monopoly position. There were fewer super-profits, the crumbs which fell to the share of the British labour leaders began to dwindle away."
Stalin J. V. : "The British Strike & The Events In Poland"; Report Delivered at a Meeting of Workers of the Chief Railway Workshops in Tiflis, June 8, 1926"; In 'Works'; Volume 8; Moscow 1954; pp. 165; or at: http://www.marx2mao.org//Stalin/BSEP26.html
    The situation for British capital got considerably worse post Second World War. The Scottish industrialists were loathe to move into new sectors where investments would have to be needed first. Instead they were complacent , made so by a previous dominance: "Lack of overseas competition which distinguished the (shipbuilding) sector at this period encouraged obsolescence and complacency."  Dickson T (Ed) "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p. 248.     This complacency was a general problem for British – ie English and Scottish capital. However Scottish capital was at this time, less resilient than English in switching gears to the new situation. The English capitalists developed previously small industries like food processing, domestic electrical goods, aircraft, motor vehicles: "Overall industrial output in England actually expanded in the interwar period in spite of the depression, rising by 20 percent between 1907 and 1930. Orientated as they were to domestic rather than export markets these industries localizing themselves along the London-Birmingham axis, did not emerge in Scotland and that country’s industrial bourgeoisie did not renew itself by shifting its’ bases."
Dickson T "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.257.
    In fact the problem was one of under-capitalising of the entire British industry, and this accelerated post-Second World War. The Brookings Institute noted that over the period of 1950 to 1963 the average: "British worker is supported by an exceptionally small amount of capital";
Cited Dickson In Dickson T (Ed): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p. 291.

"By the 1930’s the two economies were greatly inter-dependent with English capital taking the dominant part. All these features were to become even more marked in the post-war period…. Functional and financial links , even less than in the earlier periods were no longer confined to other Scottish companies, as more and more companies became tied in directly to the Scottish economy."
Scott J & Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London 1980; p. 108; 154.

 It was in this climate that the British bourgeoisie adopted three primary Tactics to fix their decline:     The 1947 Labour Government nationalized coal, and in 1948 the railways buses and electricity; and then coal and steel. In addition large segments of the cotton, shipbuilding and aircraft industries received governmental supervision. IN this process Scotland lost some of its ‘private’ heavy industrial base to a larger national group of capitalists. As Engels had pointed out, the motivation of capitalists to undergo nationalisation of an industry is to ensure that no sectional interest rakes in profits at the expense of the entire capitalist class, or to build up a new or failing essential industry that requires State financing. This is of course not equivalent to Socialism as Engels pointed out in relation to the railway development under Bismarck.
    What effect did nationalisation have on Scotland?
    The leading section of the Scottish heavy industrialists were essentially relived of their tasks:
    "The dominant force in Scottish heavy industry in the 1930's was the Colville-Ltihgow-Nimmor group, but this dominance had been upset by the post-war nationalisation. The heavy industries to which the Scottish economy was heavily committed were those to which had been most affected by nationalisation";
    Scott J & Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London 1980; p. 138.
    Despite the Tory re-privatisation of this sector, the industry never recovered. Besides, its subsequent re-nationalisation in 1967 led to the same phenomenon of a section of private capitalists whose interests were well compensated by state expropriation to be turned aside (Anatomy of Scottish Capital. p.202).
2) Second Tactic: Converting colonies into neo-colonies
We have previously detailed this aspect, in the case of India [See The Role of The Bourgeoisie In Colonial Type Countries: What is the Class Charactar of the Indian State? Changing The Line, Revisionists  Distort Lenin and Stalin"; at http://www.geocities.com/hari6kumar/alliance5table.html).
3) Third Tactic: Seeking External Financial Support

    There was a turn, initially to both of the European Economic Community and to the USA. However, under Churchill a fundamental decision to align the British state with the USA was taken, which was maintained thereafter by both the Tory party and the Labour Party. This period was examined by Alliance in an earlier issue (Crises In Capital And Their Solution - Free
Trade & Protectionism In Developed Countries; Alliance 3 1993; See:
Countires http://www.geocities.com/hari6kumar/ALLIANCE3.HTML) , and is not re-examined here.
    Suffice it to point out that the dominant factions in the British ruling class aligned themselves to the USA, and a major investment influx came from the USA into Britain. The resulting inflow of foreign capital was concentrated in Scotland – but it was not exclusive to Scotland. However it warped Scottish society more than society in the South:   "The increased role of foreign capitals in Scotland after 1945 was encouraged by the attraction of low wage levels, a relatively high level of unemployed workers as British capitalism failed to re-invest…. Of all American companies established in the United Kingdom after 1945 one-third were sited in Scotland. Between 1958 and 1968 overseas companies accounted for 30% of all new employment created by new enterprises in Scotland….. Together with investment controlled from England, this resulted in a situation where by 1975, only 41 percent of manufacturing employment in Scotland was controlled from within the country; by 1968 58% of total employment in the Central/Clydeside conurbation was in plants where ultimate control lay outside Scotland." Dickson T "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p. 295.     Just as in England, but more so in Scotland – a progressive de-industrialisation took place. Despite the militancy and trade union organisation of the workers, they could not prevent a determined onslaught. The last major militant stand taken was perhaps the 1971-2 battles of the Clydeside shipworkers. This was then followed by the great coal miners strike which was organized over the whole of Britain including Scotland. It was in this overall context that the Scottish National Party – the SNP – came to the fore.

 ii) The Split In The Scottish Capitalist Class   - The Scottish National Party

    As both Alliance and the Communist League have previously discussed, the prior unity of the industrial wings and the financial wings of capital have been to some extent splintered in the period 1970 onwards, as the crisis of capital became increasingly more difficult to reconcile. The financial wing was represented in England by the Tory party and Mrs. Thatcher, and the Labour party was supported by the industrial wing. Neither could solve the problem of avoiding inflation while maintaining growth of industry [See Alliance 3 at  http://www.geocities.com/hari6kumar/ALLIANCE3.HTML ].

    In Scotland a similar split between the two wings of capital occurred over this time. As heavy industrial capital waned in Scotland, given the post-war slump and the nationalisation of key industries, there was a rise in financial capitalist interests:

"During the 1960’s the movement of concentration in Scottish banking continued and this process led to a clarification of the relationship between the Scottish and the English banks….. By the beginning of the 1970’s the number of Scottish commercial banks had been reduced to three, all being subject to English ownership…… A notable feature of the 1960’s and 1970’s was the growth of merchant banking in Scotland, an area where the Scottish economy had always been weak…… The rising star was undoubtedly Noble Grossart which was formed in 1969 by Ian Nobel and Angus Grossart together with Sir Hugh Fraser… .
The economy itself became more bank-centred and more integrated with the English economy but the controlling directorate of the major companies was drawn from a long line of prominent [Scottish-editor] business families."
Scott J & Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London 1980; p. 168; 171-172; 223.
"Nationalisation and the take-over of Scottish companies by outside interests have however, also opened up possibilities for Scottish capital by making available large sums of money to the former owners of the companies involved. By and large, it would seem that this wealth has not found its way back into the industrial sector; instead it had gone into the financial sector. Indeed the investment trusts had their origins in the 1870’s as a way of channeling the surplus funds of the jute industry into more profitable channels, and this process seems to have continued. And perhaps the one area where Scottish registration and Scottish identify have consistently been most important, and particularly in the most recent period, had been the financial sector".
Scott J & Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London 1980; p.261.
    The interests of the Scottish financiers were attracted to the Scottish National Party (SNP): "The conversion of a section of Scottish finance capital to the SNP.... Thus Sir Hugh Fraser, followed by Ronald Macneil of Dalsuit Merchant Bank, Ian Noble of Seaforth Maritime Investments, Sir William Lithgow and Lord Cydesmuir all publicly backed the SNP as part of a strategy of developing new financial institution backed by a Scottish State which could utilize the oil revenue for foreign investment and so change a natural asset into a financial asset. This section was a minority group and faced the opposition of the dominant sections of Scottish capital who were better integrated into British capital and found the relationship sufficiently profitable. This dominant sections was itself somewhat divided over the attitude to take towards independence.’ Dickson T "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980; p.313.     The SNP has won its first parliamentary seat in 1945, but had all but disappeared over the next fifteen years, numbering in the 1950’ less than 1,000 (Devine TM. Ibid; p. 565). Other expressions of Scottish Nationalism, such as the Scottish Convention (led by John MacCormick) did take a lead in expressing a sentiment for "Home Rule". The new ‘national covenant' of 1949 collected 2 million signatures for Home Rule (Devine Ibid; p. 566). But this never translated into electoral significance. Fears that nationalisation would enable Westminster to control Scotland more, were fueled by the Conservative Party, and Sir Winston Churchill’s’ remarks that :     Over the following years, the call for Home Rule was raised several times, once by the Scottish miners in 1949. However it generally did ton find a reverberation. Until the discovery of oil in the Scottish highland off shore waters. Despite enormous subsidies from the British state, industry in Scotland had continued to decline. By the time of the 1967 general elections in Britain, the SNP had won back a place in elections. In that elections Winifred Ewing won her seat against Labour in Hamilton Lanarkshire with 46% of the vote.

    Both Conservative party leaders such as Edward Heath in 1968 (Declaration of Perth) [See Devine Ibid; p., 575] and the Labour Party in 1974, began to accept devolution of powers to the Scottish parliament (Devine ibid; p. 575). Th Scottish Trade Union executive, having in 1950 rejected the call of the Scottish miners, now in 1974 overwhelmingly supported devolution. The decline in Scotland of the Conservative Party aided the SNP as it took over the positions of the anti-Labour vote:

    The SNP proposed that the an independent Scotland would take control of the resources of North Sea Oil. There had meanwhile been an inflation of oil prices. However when a referendum on the matter took place under the next Labour government in march 1979, the vote was:     Only 63 % of the electorate had voted, and the ‘yes’ vote was less than a prior stipulated 40% of the entire referendum vote. (See Devine Ibid; pp. 587-88].

    When the SNP tabled a motion of no confidence in the Labour Government, a new general election was held. This led to a landslide Conservative government under Mrs.Thatcher. The SNP lost 9 of its 11 seats. As Mrs. Thatcher’s government wreaked the will of the Financial oligarchy-section of the ruling class, Scottish industry declined further. In 1992 the Ravenscraig Steel mill was closed in Lanarkshire Scotland, and triggered further closures. This precipated a "service" economy spurt::

    But new growth was emerging in industry in both the North Sea oil and gas industry and in electronics. Much of this was however owned not by English cpaital or by Scottish capital - but USA capital in partnership with Scottish capital:     However, this was dynamic, and much of the financial sector became well able to compete with both English and American capital:     By the late 1980-1990’s then the Scottish economy was faring better than many parts of England.
    However a further series of disillusions took place with the Poll Tax (1987) of Mrs. Thatcher that was levied in Scotland before it was in England, and the Miners Strike of 1984. The conservatives threatened further harsh measures for Scotland, as Mr. Nigel Lawson then Chancellor said:     The Conservative victory of 1987 led to resurgence in the Home Rule movement. This time led by a United Front of Labour, Liberal Democrats, and the SNP – called the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly (CSA).
    It bore the nature of a revolt against Thatcherism. In the 1992 election, when Mr. John Major retained the seat of Prime Minister, the Scottish vote for home rule was supported by 75% of the Scottish electorate (Devine Ibid; p. 613).
    Labour’s 1997electoral victory under Mr. Tony Blair led to the White Paper on devolution. Business was quietly supportive: "Scottish business which had vociferously condemned devolution in 1979 was mainly silent….. major Scottish companies such as the insurance giants Standard Life and Scottish Widows, declared they were comfortable with the proposal."
Devine, Ibid; p. 616.
    In a new referendum, 74.3 % of voters supported a Scottish parliament and 63.5% agreed that its should be able to vary and levee tax. The Scottish parliament hereafter would have: "Power over all matters apart from foreign policy, defence, macro-economic policy, social security abortion and broadcasting. IT could rise or lower the basic rate of tax by 3 pence, or Pounds Sterling 450 million in total. Although Westminster would continue to have responsibility for relations with Europe, there would also be a Scottish representative office in Brussels and Scottish ministers could be expected to take part in the UK delegation to the EU Council of Ministers."
Devine Ibid; p. 617.
iii) The Marxist-Leninist Strategy to Be Advocated For Scotland now
    The Marxist-Leninist movement in Britain has long urged that the proposed entry into the COmmon Market was adjacent the interests of the working class of Britain, as ceding their potential of control to an even more distant bureaucracy. It is therefore unsurprising that we should support the class for devoltuion. But this is not the same as calling for Separation as an independent nation. This latter we cannot support and believe it is incorrect. Our grounds are below:
Firstly we have argued in this essay, that economic integration has proceeded to the point where disentanglement is not viable. As     This militates against Stalin's definition of a nation, of which Stalin says all must be present to achieve a national definition:     Secondly, we believe that the movement towards Home Rule was fueled by a profound alienation of the working peoples of Scotland. One that took an especial character in Scotland due to the nature of the "remnants" (In Marx and Engels phrase). That especial character was that of a movement towards an impossible nationhood complete divorced from England. We believe this is at best un-wise, and at worst, a deliberate obfuscation of the urgent need for unity of the working class under one Red Banner.
    At this time in its hisotry, the working classes of Scotland need their Workers Party built on Marxism-Leninism. Supporting the bourgeois nationalism of the capitalist and financiers who have come to an accomodation with the British capitalists and the EEC financiers - is not serving the interests of the Scotttish workers.
    As Stalin cautions:     Even if we are to assume that Scotland is truely a nation in its own right, that does not confer upon the Marxist-Leninist the duty to insist automatically on its independence.
    Certainly it is true that the position, of Lenin and Stalin, was always that Nations - if a national status did in fact exist (by definitions provided by Stalin) should have the full Right to Self Determination:     But even if there is a nation, NOT all claims to nationhood are strategically defensible from the workers perspective. For example the Marxist-Leninist will not necessarily support all claims to nationhood if they obstruct the working peoples. For instance, the resurrection of the influence of the beys and mullahs, in Transcaucasia, would not have been in the best interests of the toiling strata. The best answer for the workers and toilers, depends upon the precise historical situation. It must be carefully found by looking at the precise facts:

CONCLUSION
Those claiming that the process in Scotland of a penetration of modern industry, and merging with England of capital, have claimed that this was a "colonial process". One who fostered this call was C.M.Grieve – known also as Hugh McDiarmid: "Scotland is unique among Scottish nations in its failure to develop a nationalist sentiment strong enough to be a vital factor in its affairs… no comprehensive enough agency has emerged; and the common-sense of our people has rejected one-sided expedients incapable of addressing the organic complexity of our national life";
C.M.Grieve, Albyn or Scotland and the Future (1927); Cited by Harvie C, "Scotland and Nationalism"; London; 1977; p. 34.
This has been echoed more recently by those academics who have inspired the Trotskyite wings. The prominent academic who is often cited is Michael Hecter: "The movement of peripheral labour is determined largely by forces exogenous to the periphery…. Economic dependence is reinforced through juridical, political, and military measures, There is a relative lack of services, lower standard of living, and higher level of frustration…. [And] national discrimination on the basis of language, religion, or other cultural forms";
Michael Hecter; Cited by Harvie C, "Scotland and Nationalism"; London; 1977; p.43.
But as Harvie rebuts Hecter: "Something like this certainly happened in the Highlands after 1746, but the internal colonisers were Scots."
Harvie Ibid; p.44.
    Of course Marxist-Leninists do not support national movements on the grounds of "nationalist sentiment".
    As has been shown, the ruling classes of Scotland as a whole joined this movement for Union and gained enormously from it. They cannot by any stretch of a Marxist-Leninist analysis – be termed a comprador bourgeoisie.
    While Scottish [and Welsh] devolution is supported by Marxist-Leninists - this is a tactic to increase local working-class attempts to exert a control and accountability. It is not a national movement.
    We will examine the question of the Welsh movement next.
    For now, however we return to wehre we started, with a consideration of Marx and Engels. We are told by S.S.Prawer that one of Marx's favourite poets was Robert Burns, whose poem "For a' that and a' that" was rendered inot German by Ferdinand Freiligarth, which Marx "repeatedly referred to"[SS Prawer: "Marx and World Literature"; Oxford; 1975;  p. 157]. It is fitting to end with Burn's song that praises the thought of international brotherhood. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PART THREE
- Burgess, Keith: in Dickson T (editor): "Scottish Capitalism. Class, State and Nation from Before the Union to the Present"; London 1980;

- Comintern; July 1921: "Theses on World Situation and the Tasks of the Comintern"; adopted Third Congress Comintern; Cited by Jane Degras; "The Communist International, Documents 1919-43"; London; Volume 1"; 1971;
- Devine T.M.; "The Scottish Nation 1700-2000"; London 2000.
-Engels, Frederick: "May 4th in London" 1890;
- Engels, Frederick; "Letter to F.A.Sorge April 19, 1890";
- Harvie C, "Scotland and Nationalism"; London; 1977;
-Lenin V.I.; "Notebook "Lambda"; in Volume 39; ‘Notebooks on Imperialism"; Moscow; 1968;
- McLean, Iain  : "The Legend of Red Clydeside"; Edinburgh; 1983;
- SS Prawer: "Marx and World Literature"; Oxford; 1975;
-Scott J and Hughes M. "The Anatomy of Scottish Capital"; London; 1980;
- Stalin J.S.; 'Marxism and the National Question'; 'Works'; Moscow; 1956; Vol 2;
- Stalin J. V. : "The British Strike & The Events In Poland"; Report Delivered at a Meeting of Workers of the Chief Railway Workshops in Tiflis, June 8, 1926"; In 'Works'; Volume 8; Moscow 1954; pp. 164-182.
Stewart Andy M; "Songs of Robert Burns"; CD 1991; Edinburgh.



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