Nationalism is not the sentimentalization of politics. Single. Behind the flags, heroic chants and floral offerings to the heroes of the homeland there is no hidden displacement of the search for paradise on earth. Single. There is, first and foremost, a desperate movement to find a way out of the corsets of the nation-state, a political, economic and cultural structure that is already unable to continue creating wealth. In Europe, at least.

Eric Hobsbawm pointed out in the era of the (Critical) revolution that, as of 1830, the railway networks on the continent, that is, the infrastructure for the industrial development of the capitalist nations, were designed and funded mostly by the State. England was the only country that built it entirely thanks to private capital. Since then, the economic development model was established. "Every government, mercantilist and paternal," explains the British historian, "overwhelmed with his vigilance and administrative supervision the humble subjects, for the benefit of social stability, but also for the despair of private entrepreneurs." Until today.

The obstacles that the states put were decreasing as they weakened. And reducing. From the great colonial empires that formed in the nineteenth century and reached the Great War, Europe was fragmented, first into nation-states. Now in regions. In a slow agony, a Europe that no longer produces anything , represents an extremely regulated space for global capitalism. The industry, except in Germany, barely reaches 20% on average in the EU. And it doesn't stop going down. In Spain it does not reach 17%. Therefore, the desperate businessmen, said Hobsbawm, have remained firm in their demands: flexibility in hiring, reduction of social contributions and taxation that does not "penalize", they argue, business benefits.

It is impossible that a State, like all Europeans, which must maintain costly welfare structures for an increasingly aging and long-term population, can be attractive for investments. The solution offered by spaces such as the Basque Country (de facto already independent and immersed in a territorial expansion project), Scotland or Catalonia is by no means crazy . That this alternative is led by crazy political leaders with racist speeches (such as those of Torra or the PNV) is a minimum price already faced by entrepreneurs willing to benefit from a Catalonia with exclusive fiscal and labor competencies.

Those who paid yesterday's flags in Barcelona do not seek independence or make Catalonia a nation-state. Yes an autonomous region in a subdivided EU.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Columnists
  • Europe
  • Catalonia
  • Barcelona
  • Spain
  • Germany
  • PNV
  • Basque Country

GrandstandThe silk routes

Turn of the pageDoñana and the presidential lynx

Cinnamon Thin Spain: Jihadist Threat