What if Great Britain ends up as Teensy Weensy Britain?

Scotland is about to vote on whether to break up an alliance going back to 1707 and become independent from the United Kingdom.

And why would anybody do that? That’s the question that the anti-independence side asks in a campaign featuring young people listing the UK’s benefits: “The BBC, the UK Armed Forces, British music, British art, the UK keeps us strong in a world of global forces that overwhelm other nations.”

But according to Professor Charlie Jeffrey of the University of Edinburgh, the pro-independence side argues Scotland is in the grip of a conservative central government that doesn’t care about the working class.

“If we stay, the national health service will be privatized. Social inequality will increase. We will continue to be governed by a political party that conservatives, which is deeply disliked in Scotland.”

Not only that, his colleague at the University of Edinburgh, Julia Kaarbo says there’s an impatience with Britain’s military adventures.

And so, says Professor Jeffrey, it boils down to this, “The ‘No’ side says if you leave you will suffer economically. The ‘Yes’ side says if we stay, we will have a future of social injustice. ”

Which does Scotland value more: The right to amass as much money as you can or social justice?

This sounds to me like Britain’s version of Red versus Blue. This would be Blue Britain seceding from Red Britain.

There are predictions that if Scotland goes, Wales could follow. And if Wales goes, I wonder just how contagious such an idea might become in other politically divided democracies.