Why Scots Should Rule Scotland

Why Scots Should Rule Scotland PDF Author: Alasdair Gray
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 1782114327
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 121

Get Book Here

Book Description
Alsadair Gray wrote the first edition of this book for the 1992 general election. In it he showed the poor state of present-day Scotland; gave a concise, elegant history of the Scottish people and their relations with the rulers of England; argued that Scotland should have a strong government elected by its own people. Five years later Scotland still does not have that and its state has worsened. The original chapters have been revised and largely rewritten. New chapters dealing with Scottish education, land owning, and law and the Labour Party bring the argument to date. This is a more openly political book than the first edition, written to persuade people who feel their vote does not much influence how their country is managed that Scottish independence matters, and that only one political party is honestly working to achieve it.

Why Scots Should Rule Scotland

Why Scots Should Rule Scotland PDF Author: Alasdair Gray
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 1782114327
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 121

Get Book Here

Book Description
Alsadair Gray wrote the first edition of this book for the 1992 general election. In it he showed the poor state of present-day Scotland; gave a concise, elegant history of the Scottish people and their relations with the rulers of England; argued that Scotland should have a strong government elected by its own people. Five years later Scotland still does not have that and its state has worsened. The original chapters have been revised and largely rewritten. New chapters dealing with Scottish education, land owning, and law and the Labour Party bring the argument to date. This is a more openly political book than the first edition, written to persuade people who feel their vote does not much influence how their country is managed that Scottish independence matters, and that only one political party is honestly working to achieve it.

Independence

Independence PDF Author: Alasdair Gray
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 1782111735
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 113

Get Book Here

Book Description
Gray argues that a truly independent Scotland will only ever exist when people in every home, school, croft, farm, workshop, factory, island, glen, town and city feel that they too are at the centre of the world. Independence asks whether widespread social welfare is more possible in small nations such as Norway and New Zealand than in big ones like Britain and the U.S.A. It describes the many differences between Scotland and England. It examines the people who choose to live north of the border. It shows Scotland's relevance to the rest of the world. It attempts to conjure a vision of how a Scots parliament might benefit the people of this small but dynamic nation. And it tells how democracy will only truly succeed when every person believes that their vote will make a difference.

How We Should Rule Ourselves

How We Should Rule Ourselves PDF Author: Alasdair Gray
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 1782114408
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 53

Get Book Here

Book Description
This pamphlet is for anyone alarmed by the present British government. It argues that the component nations of the United Kingdom can become true democracies only by declaring themselves republics. The authors are Alasdair Gray, writer of fiction and pamphlets such as Why Scots Should Rule Scotland, and Adam Tomkins, Professor of Public Law in the University of Glasgow and author of Public Law and Our Republican Constitution. Both are committed republicans.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World

How the Scots Invented the Modern World PDF Author: Arthur Herman
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307420957
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 482

Get Book Here

Book Description
An exciting account of the origins of the modern world Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics—contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. Herman has charted a fascinating journey across the centuries of Scottish history. Here is the untold story of how John Knox and the Church of Scotland laid the foundation for our modern idea of democracy; how the Scottish Enlightenment helped to inspire both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution; and how thousands of Scottish immigrants left their homes to create the American frontier, the Australian outback, and the British Empire in India and Hong Kong. How the Scots Invented the Modern World reveals how Scottish genius for creating the basic ideas and institutions of modern life stamped the lives of a series of remarkable historical figures, from James Watt and Adam Smith to Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and how Scottish heroes continue to inspire our contemporary culture, from William “Braveheart” Wallace to James Bond. And no one who takes this incredible historical trek will ever view the Scots—or the modern West—in the same way again.

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot PDF Author: John Lloyd
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 150954268X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 197

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.

My Scotland, Our Britain

My Scotland, Our Britain PDF Author: Gordon Brown
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471137511
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383

Get Book Here

Book Description
My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharingis a highly personal account of Gordon Brown's Scotland, the nation he was born in, and our Britain, the multinational state that the Scots, English, Welsh and Northern Irish have created and share. Laying bare his family's ancestry over 300 years of the Union and explaining how it shaped his background, Brown charts what it was like growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s, and explains the influence of religion, education and Scotland's unique industrial structure on the shaping of his and Scotland's identity. He sets out the dramatic economic, social and cultural changes of the past fifty years and the vastly different prospects his children will face, demonstrating that a sense of Scottish national identity has always remained strong and how Scottish institutions have always fiercely guarded their independence. The referendum should not be seen as a battle between Scotland and Britain, he argues, but one between two visions of Scotland's future: one that sees Scotland prosper with a strong Scottish Parliament that is part of the UK, and one that severs all the political links Scots have with the UK. Brown puts forward his proposal for a constitutional settlement that could unite the country, and argues that in tune with Scotland's history of deep engagement with the wider world -as inventors, explorers, traders, missionaries, business leaders and aid workers -the best future for Scots is not to leave Britain, but to continue to shape it.

Poor Things

Poor Things PDF Author: Alasdair Gray
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
ISBN: 9781564783073
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Get Book Here

Book Description
One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter--a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation.The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter.Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.

The State: Historical and Political Dimensions

The State: Historical and Political Dimensions PDF Author: Richard English
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134733070
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Get Book Here

Book Description
Drawing on current debates on secessions within the United Kingdom, this book analyses the British State today and looks at its place in the future. Featuring original contributions from a variety of disciplines, this study tackles the problem of defining and studying the state and looks at the role the nation-state has played as the basic political unit in Europe and throughout the world.

Adapting Frankenstein

Adapting Frankenstein PDF Author: Dennis R. Cutchins
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526108933
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 581

Get Book Here

Book Description
This edited collection explores the afterlife of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in theatre and film, radio, literature and graphics novels, making a substantial contribution to the field of adaptation studies.

Why Scottish Literature Matters

Why Scottish Literature Matters PDF Author: Carla Sassi
Publisher: The Saltire Society
ISBN: 9780854110827
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the fourth book in a Saltire series examining the significance of Scottish history, philosophy and the Scots language. Here, the Distinguished Italian academic Carla Sassi examines Scotland's literature from the earliest times to the late 20th century and offers new and fascinating insights into the nature of nationhood and identity, and the way in which these are reflected in, and the inspiration for, literary output at various periods. The major historical influences are covered including relations with England, religious division, enlightenment philosophy and the Union of 1707, but Professor Sassi also examines Scotland's role in the British imperial adventure and the impact on literature of the coloniser / colonised experience. She makes a special study of the contribution of women writers and the writers of the 20th century 'Renaissance' and concludes with speculation on the future of 'Scottish' literature in a post-modern Scotland exposed to global cultural influences and living in the new political world heralded by the restoration of the Holyrood Parliament. Carla Sassi is Associate Professor of English literature at the University of Verona. She specialises in Sc