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Arts of Independence by Alexander Moffat and Alan Riach sampler

ALEXANDER MOFFAT and ALAN RIACH take a hard look at the most neglected aspect of the argument for Scotland’s distinctive national identity: the arts. Their proposition is that music, painting, architecture and, pre-eminently, literature, are the fuel and fire that makes imagination possible. Neglect them at your peril. For Moffat and Riach, jobs, health and trade are matters of material fact that need to be enlivened by imagination. How can we organise society to help us approach what the arts have to give. Why have we been so poor at representing our arts comprehensively, both within Scotland and internationally? What can be done? How might things be different? The arts are of paramount importance in the modern world. Moffat and Riach take the argument out of the hands of politicians and economists and beyond the petty squabbles of party politics.

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First published 2014

isbn: 978-1-908373-75-5

The publishers acknowledge the support of

towards the publication of this volume.

The paper used in this book is recyclable. It is made from

low chlorine pulps produced in a low energy, low emissions manner

from renewable forests.

Printed and bound by

Martins the Printer, Berwick upon Tweed

Typeset in 11 point Sabon

by 3btype.com

The authors’ right to be identified as author of this work under the

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First published 2014 isbn: 978-1-908373-75-5 The publishers acknowledge the support of towards the publication of this volume. The paper used in this book is recyclable. It is made from low chlorine pulps produced in a low energy, low emissions manner from renewable forests. Printed and bound by Martins the Printer, Berwick upon Tweed Typeset in 11 point Sabon by 3btype.com The authors’ right to be identified as author of this work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 has been asserted. © Alexander Moffat and Alan Riach 2014

Contents Acknowledgements 6 Preface: The Moment Before 7 Introduction 11 part one – the cultural argument The Herald Manifesto 25 The First Dialogue: The Unanswered Questions Answered 29 The Economic Argument 29 Better Together? 31 Scotland’s Self-Suppression 33 The USA: Cultural Self-Projection 52 Apply That to Scotland 60 The Languages of Scotland 73 Government, Arts and People 76 Langholm Common Riding 79 part two – the union: before, during and after The Union Means Money 83 The Second Dialogue: What do we do with the Union? 89 London or Edinburgh? 89 The Union and Democracy 98 Royalty, the British Army and Brute Force 102 British and Scottish? 119 Money and Culture: The Lure of London 121 Beyond the Union 128 part three – the arts of independence Democracy, Education and the Arts in Scotland 139 The Third Dialogue: 21st-Century Kulchur 147 Poets, Philosophers and Politicians 147 The Machinery of Trivialisation 150 The Work of Democracy 156 The Virtues of Nationalism 167 The Origins of Modernity 176 The History of the Future 191 Conclusion 211 Index 215 5

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