Calgary, Edmonton mayors call potential separatism referendum 'dangerous' (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 2 days ago by Sunshine@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca

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[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It happens to states that feel they are the ones providing a nation all the wealth but get an unbalanced return of benefits from the nation. So someone gets the idea that the state would thrive, economically, if they were able to spend their earnings on themselves, as though the nation is holding them back.

Applying common logic, though, most people don't acknowledge any of the pros for all of the cons. But there are some—imagine a nationalist mindset for their state/ region if you will—that think it's the right thing to do because the current setup is "unfair".

[-] PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 4 points 1 day ago

It happens to states that feel they are the ones providing a nation all the wealth but get an unbalanced return of benefits from the nation

Yeah, especially if someone who wants to weaken the nation is providing tons of funding to make people feel that way, and specifically paying off politicians to give it a voice and make it sound reasonable.

Like I said, I had no idea about this person or any of this, it was just my shoot-from-the-hip reaction to such a nonsensical idea and where it might have come from. And, of course, I learn that the kooky lady who's been a standard bearer for it super coincidentally has some other random kooky ideas about the war in Ukraine that she wants to be vocal about. What a shocker, how could this have happened, why could such a combination exist and how could I have predicted it.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah, you could be right. My point is this scenario is historically common around the world, without external influence. It's almost always states/regions with lots of rich natural resources. There are some exceptions like Singapore, but the Alberta situation can be compared to groups like from within Texas or Western Australia. Lots of oil, minerals, etc. and wanting to seceed to benefit from it, rather than contribute to the State.

It's also common for those kooky people to be pro-mining or drilling and these people often have kooky ideas regarding political conflicts, the environment, and social welfare if there's a pathway to economically benefit from it.

Of course, it would be a geopolitical disaster for both the seceedee and their current nation, so no one ever listens. It's the premise behind "divide and conquer" afterall—regardless of whether internally voluntary or externally manipulated—so it won't work out well.