Anatomy of Modern Scotland: Spaces and Places

Abstract

A set of assumptions exist across large swathes of Scotland — that this is a land of inclusion and egalitarianism with an absence of elites. Various Scottish accounts validate this perspective, including some influential voices with what appears to be limited self-reflection or definition (see for example McIlvanney, 1992b). Labour politicians and sympathetic opinions cite the term ‘social justice’, believing that it informs their values and actions, although they never define this or the gap between rhetoric and realities and what might change contemporary Scotland (see Alexander, 2005).