Britannist

Overall the English people seem to be saying (in the poll - details of which were given in posting number one to this thread) that they support the UK as long as the people of England are treated fairly within it (i.e. constitutional equality with and the same standard of public services as the people of Scotland within the UK) - and that they are not optimistic about the Union of the UK lasting for more than a few decades at the most.

Smidgey

I hope this one doesn't happen.

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How vain is man, who boasts in fight the valour of gigantic might!

-Georg Friedrich Händel

Britannist

Found that link regarding your apparent claim that Adam Smith was a republican, yet Smidgey (please see posting numbers 61 and 64 in the thread in this section titled "James Purnell says No to English anthem")?

I asked you for a link over a week ago, Smidgey, but - so far -from you all there has been is silence on this subject.

Smidgey

Sorry, I have not checked that thread.

Firstly, you should read 'The Wealth of Nations'. He is critical of monarchy in it and supportive of American independence, he does argue that the British monarchy, since it has had its power restricted, is better than the French or German ones, however, that the workers of Britain are worse off than the workers in the republics of Switzerland or Holland at the time (which he specifically mentions). Smith said that Britain should withdraw from the colonies so that fighting should not take place. You can see his critique of the system of his time especially in book III of his masterpiece.

Here is a link to Professor Gavin Kennedy's blog on Adam Smith:

Adam Smith's Lost Legacy: Why Smith did not publish "Jurisprudence"

I would also be able to give you a link to a whole plethora of JSTOR journal articles, but I'm not sure if you have access to JSTOR. Unless you are a university student or have paid the monthly subscription you won't have access. Do you have access to JSTOR?

Here is a link to one of the articles anyway:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=000...3E2.0.CO%3B2-L

Even if you don't have access, you can guess from the title what it is roughly about.

__________________
How vain is man, who boasts in fight the valour of gigantic might!

-Georg Friedrich Händel

Britannist

Thank you for your detailed reply and links, Smidgey.

I think that my UKIP friend who is a great admirer of Oliver Cromwell would be interested in reading about Adam Smith.

The appearance of the image of Adam Smith on the £20 note has generated - and will continue to generate - renewed interest in his work and in his beliefs.