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Spain has a long and storied history of fascism. This can't really come as a surprise to anyone.
Stay strong, Catalonia.
Stay strong, Catalonia.
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BARCELONA — The escalating confrontation over Catalonia's independence drive took its most serious turn on Saturday as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain announced he would remove the leadership of the restive region and initiate a process of direct rule by the central government in Madrid.
The Catalan independence movement has drawn some support among libertarians.
From a theoretical standpoint, any group's attempt to break away from a larger political entity is hard to argue with. Ultimately, though, the principle of self-determination, taken to its logical extreme, would mean dissolving the state and replacing it with voluntary associations. Which is why some classical liberals have taken a more limited view of self-determination.
For now, a better cause for libertarians to rally around than Catalan nationalism is replacement of the Spanish welfare state with a liberal order and decentralizing the financial system underpinning the system of autonomous communities much more.
If anyone was expecting clarity on the fate of Catalonia's independence bid from the Catalan president's scheduled address on Thursday—or indeed clarity on the direction of Spain's 40-year-0ld democracy—they didn't get it. But by this point in the drama, which is stretching into the fourth week since the Spanish region held and passed an independence referendum declared unconstitutional, inconsistency has become the consistent theme. In Thursday's installment, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont announced that he would neither unilaterally declare Catalan independence from Spain nor call for new elections in the region, opting instead to leave the fate of the secessionist bid to its regional lawmakers. "It is up to the [Catalan regional] parliament to proceed with what the majority determines," he said.
Devil's Advocate:
Would you guys feel the same about California seceding? I certainly wouldn't. And I'm not saying the situations are the same by any means. Nor am I saying Catalonia doesn't have a right to independence..
I don't mean to imply that a state can never secede. But IMO you have to look at the whole context. If California were to vote for secession and it passes, can said secession even be seen as legitimate when they let non-americans vote?Why can't a state secede? They have to apply to join the union and there are defined requirements.
But some are questionable. Where did West Virginia come from?
Where is the restriction on leaving? Just the threat of nuclear winter?
The bottom line to most Americans is Spain has not been an important player on the world stage since the Spanish civil war or earlier. They have Communist and Fascist leanings that are complicated and uninteresting. Most Americans knowlage of political Spain is either via Columbus or Hemingway. Similar to France, They have reduced there modern culture to a bedroom community increasingly inhabited by retired Englishmen because the natives can't afford a decent lifestyle. Other than being an interesting tourist destination, they have both become poor countries living on history and reputations made 1000 years ago while trying to retain the arrogance of a culture long lost.
France too with how eagerly they went Full Metal Mass Beheading and then actively collaborated with Hitler... I suspect it's the dark side of Roman culture's ongoing legacy while the Britons ultimately kicked 'em off their island.I have always felt there was a very dark evil streak running through the Spanish psychology.......maby it is a product of studying the Spanish Inquisition or there actions here in The America's, bull fights or allegiance with Hitler. I don't know just seems something is there.