“Some may see the changes, too few see the ends”: a wise man once said.
ON May 17, I shall chair a public meeting in Lochgelly, Fife, organised by the Mossmorran Action Group to discuss “excessive” flaring at the neighbouring petrochemical plant. The companies operating the facility have been warned by Sepa – the Scottish Environment Protection Agency – that they face being fined for breaches of the regulations.
There have been more than 1000 complaints from local people and the question often raised is: “Why does this happen; don’t these companies have ethical standards?” The answer is that all responsible companies have ethics codes that ought to make self-regulation effective. Why then do these codes sometimes not work? Because all businesses, and indeed most organisations, are predicated on a struggle between ethics and economics.
Fear not, gentle reader, this is still a column on constitutions. So, allow me to make the connection.
The same condition applies to countries. They too need to state what they will stand for and what they will not stand for. Successful states are built on solid moral foundations.
These foundations – embodied in the constitution – define the state. The Scotland many envisage is less about identity and flags and much more about values and ethics.
Get these moral principles in place first, then questions about ethics and economics are much easier to deal with.
For instance, it is likely that some of the difficulties over the Growth Commission might thus have been avoided, or minimised. It is so important to get the moral foundations of the state clearly and fully defined before tackling major issues.
Otherwise the debate quickly heads towards the ethical quicksand of “growth for what purpose?”
Sound values and ethics are hugely important. Without a principled base little can be achieved that is lasting.
Think of a new state like building a house. Where do you start? With the foundations, of course. With solid foundations everything is possible. By contrast, anything built on poor foundations will not last. A kitchen may be well planned and beautifully outfitted, but it cannot be sustained without solid foundations permanently in place.
This is why it is vitally important that the very first Citizens’ Assembly deals with the constitution.
Here is another crucial point. The Scottish Government has made remarkable progress in any number of fields. Indeed, much of its work is recognised as world class. But what happens if the first government of an independent Scotland is pressured into forsaking these gains to secure its future? It’s a tough world out there.
It would be a whole lot easier in any negotiations if the government of the new Scottish state can counter these pressures by saying: “I’m sorry, I cannot yield on this point because it would be unconstitutional.”
Furthermore, there could not be a better time to be crystal clear about Scotland’s ethics, because Westminster has utterly lost its moral compass.
Millions are squandered on Brexit, non-existent ships and Trident, at a time when more and more people are being made destitute.
The forthcoming independence referendum will surely be decided by moral sentiments. In the end, it will centre on the question of who is trusted to secure the nation’s future: Edinburgh or London?
Even in the smallest countries moral principles may be plainly stated.
As an example, the Solomon Islands is a nation of 600,000 people in Oceania, which became independent from the UK in 1978. Like many new states, the Solomon Islands has experienced its share of problems.
But the process of state-building is helped by the fact that there are over-arching constitutional principles to stick to and unite around.
“We the people of Solomon Islands, proud of the wisdom and the worthy customs of our ancestors, mindful of our common and diverse heritage and conscious of our common destiny, do now establish the sovereign democratic State of Solomon Islands;
DECLARE that –
a. all power in Solomon Islands belongs to its people and is exercised on their behalf by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary established by this Constitution;
b. the natural resources of our country are vested in the people and the government of Solomon Islands;
AGREE AND PLEDGE that –
a. our government shall be based on democratic principles of universal suffrage and the responsibility of executive authorities to elected assemblies;
b. we shall uphold the principles of equality, social justice and the equitable distribution of incomes;
c. we shall respect and enhance human dignity and strengthen and build on our communal solidarity;
d. we shall cherish and promote the different cultural traditions within Solomon Islands;
e. we shall ensure the participation of our people in the governance of their affairs and provide within the framework of our national unity for the decentralisation of power;
AND for these purposes we now give ourselves this Constitution.”
Can you imagine Westminster espousing these clear moral principles? No, neither can I.
So, let’s waste no time setting down a code of ethics for the new Scotland in a written constitution.
John Drummond is chair and founder of the Scottish Constitutional Commission
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