From The Economist, a special report on how Britain has lost its global swagger — it needs to abandon its separatist dreams and rediscover its open, trading heritage; and Great Britain or Little England? Fingers crossed that the country will choose wisely (and more). From Open Democracy, do the Scots really hate the English? Adam Ramsay investigates; and dear England, please listen to what the Scots are actually talking about. Robin McGhee on Orwell’s Anglomania: George Orwell was a romantic — his politics represents the clang of his aspirations against the cold steel of reality. From Scottish Review of Books, George McKechnie on nationalism and the BBC; and shopping for Tartan: Richard Holloway reviews Scotland the Brave: A Scottish-American Mosaic by W. B. Carnochan. Henry Hitchings on what happens when the British stop being polite and start getting real: Intimacy and the decline of manners in society. Louis Pattinson on the beautiful dystopian hell of a post-riot Britain. Niki Seth-Smith on how the pro-independence Scots who want to turn their country into a socialist utopia. Nicola Shulman reviews Sorry! The English and Their Manners by Henry Hitchings. Tom de Castella and Sam Judah on Scottish independence: What would it mean for the rest of the UK? (and more) An England of the mind: Gabriel Roberts reviews The Making of the English Landscape by W.G. Hoskins. Is cheekiness a truly British concept? Will Self on how Jamie Oliver represents everything wrong with contemporary Britain. What would the union jack look like if the Scottish bit were removed?
