Ricard Carnicer
Computer Scientist trying to learn new things every dayOne of the main causes of divorce is a feeling of being smothered by the other, the feeling of being subjugated by someone who negates your individual freedom.
Nowadays, everybody has clear opinions about equality, respect, and many other concepts related to personal liberty, as well as about their rights as citizens. Politicians are always talking about these things.
But when referring to these concepts as applying to the rights of the nations, somehow they seem to no longer apply. Perhaps it is because we get used to live in conflict: neighbors who scream at each other, far-away neighbors who shoot and kill each other. And that's just how things are.
Could it be that the fear of losing out makes couples and countries act like this? Sometimes, someone will try to find a solution for both parties. They might even decide to go to a counselor, someone who helps them reach an agreement in order not to come to blows. The result of such meetings is a document, or some kind of revised guideline that doesn’t satisfy anyone completely. It doesn’t necessarily fix the disagreement, but it defines day-to-day interaction (for instance in the tone of the conversations), and most importantly it puts in place a compensatory financial agreement.
Many couples can't quite decide to go ahead with being financially independent from each other. Both the giver and the receiver usually argue that things are fine as they are.
Independence is the best way to achieve a positive agreement, since it is based on mutual recognition among equals. And this is usually the problem: the initial premise is not accepted equally by both parties. To reach an agreement, independence is absolutely essential.
From an economic point of view, Nobel laureate Milton Friedman has said “If an exchange between two parties is a voluntary one, it won't happen unless both parties believe they will benefit from it. Most economic fallacies come from losing sight of this simple idea.” Thus, Catalonia, in general, understands these principles more deeply than Spain. When both parties agree, independence will be possible. By mutual agreement, of course.
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You're right, my friend. Unfortunately it's impossible reach an agreement when, as happens with the Spaniards case, they don't want to listen. They rule, they impose their will many times in an anti-democratic way. You know the last news: now it's forbidden come into the football with Catalan independence flags, cause they argue the flags can induce to the violence. The democratic independence flag may induce the violence of Spaniards!!! wow!! good thought!! the problem isn't the incivility of violence, the problem is the flag.!!! A typical Spanish closed reasoning.