Why Does David Cameron want Scotland to stay in Union with Britain so badly? CASE STUDY

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM - WHAT'S THAT GOT TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY?

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, commented that the Scottish independence would be a "painful divorce" from Britain if the Scottish nation vote yes on this coming Thursday. Cameron gave obvious reasons for this (seen here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29212102):

• Currency change 
• Splitting of armed forces
• Pension funds ruined - with some cost
• New international boarders - no longer easily cost
• No automatic support from UK embassy
• Interest rates not set by stability of Bank of England 
• Scottish tax payers bearing the cost of a banking meltdown
• No more UK welfare system and NHS 

LETS BREAK THIS DOWN - IDEOLOGICALLY STYLE!

How does Cameron's speech relate the Conservatism?

1. Tradition - Conservatism is closely linked to the desire of public order, desire to keep traditional institutions (the monarchy, the Church, the Armed forces etc). This relates back to Burke - "no generation should ever be so rash as to consider itself superior to its predecessors." The fact that values and institutions have survived is a testament to their quality - hence, the pound and Scotland should stay with Britain. Traditions provide continuity and stability as they prevent social conflict and link past and present, preventing violent transformations. For some, the idea of an Independent Scotland is only a pipe dream as it can never actually happen - a more pragmatic response would be Westminster giving the Scottish Assembly more powers. 
2. Organic society - this was mainly a reaction to the rise of liberal individualism which was prompted by Utilitarians and classical liberals. Conservatives bit back by stating that society is more than merely a collection of free individuals, but a single entity like a living organism. For the Conservatives in the UK, losing Scotland would be losing a part of its organic society - Scotland is naturally apart of the UK and thus, without it, is no the same. 
3. Property - Cameron's speech highlights the danger to Scottish people's money, morgatages and pensions if there was an independent Scotland. Conservatives believe in owning property or shares in businesses would give people a "stake" in society and thus promotes their sense of responsibility. If Scottish banks are no longer protected by Westminster, this could mean that Scottish people are in danger of losing their savings, taking away their stake - which also relates to Scottish business and how the Bank of England will no longer set the interest rates in Scotland, affecting Scottish wages. 

1. Currency change - keeping the pound has been a convergent factor for both the Conservatives and Labour party for many years. Cameron's main issue here is that Scotland have not chosen or given any clues in what they wish to do with their currency if it is a yes to independence. This shows the importance of pragmatism - the pound has worked for many reasons, so there is no reason to change it. It is a traditional concept in which both Cameron and Osbourne have warned that if it is yes to independence, the pound shall not be given to the Scots. The Euro has seen hard times over the recent decade, with the PIGS and Ireland suffering and Germany and the UK bailing them out - is that what Scotland want too? 
2. Armed forces - everyone knows that every conservative loves their traditional institutions - its pretty obvious from the ideology's name! But seriously, the armed forces has been a traditional institution in the eyes of Conservatism since its birth - 
3. Welfare system and NHS - although this may seem a bit strange coming from a Conservative, Cameron's way of thinking does come from a wave of "Compassionate Conservativsm" which aims to fuse some sorts of social security and reliability into their values of a party. Cameron wants to move away from the days of Thatcher where privatisation and unnecessary taxation are used as warning cards against the public. The NHS and the welfare system is important to Cameron - or that maybe due to the influence of the Lib Dems in the Coalition or Cameron may be using it against the Scots as a scare tactic. In which ever way you view it, it comes down to the fact that the NHS has been an institution from the 1950's which all 3 political parties in the UK agreed to - now the NHS can be seen as a "traditional institution" to which the Conservatives want Scotland to be apart of too. 

Is Cameron being a bit "BURKEAN?"

I have been reading up on a lot of Burke recently and found that Cameron's desperation to stay in union with Scotland resembles the angst and shame that Edmund Burke found over the results of the French Revolution. In Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France," Burke comments that the revolution would descend into terror and dictatorship - also stating that the revolutionaries were destroying "time-tested" institutions without any assurance they would be replaced with better options ------ do you see the resemblance or am I crazy? We hear Cameron repeatedly stating that Scotland and Salmons has no idea what could happen to an independent Scotland without the pound because, as of yet, they have no other option of currency. Why should one test the stability of an already founded institution that works quite well?  

Burke also argued that:

"Society is indeed a contract... the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living; those who are dead, and those who are to be born... Changing the state as often as there are floating fancies... no one generation could link with other. Men would be little better than flies of a summer."

For Scotland to leave the union, from a Burkean perspective, would be to jeopardise the social contract of future generations - the separatists in Scotland have not grounded their ideas in other social contracts and thus have no reliability of a traditional institution that has stood the test of time. From this conservative philosophical view, it is easy to see why Cameron would argue against Scottish Independence.
Finally, Burke states that change in society should be undertaken when its clear that the existing order is untenable - the opinion polls of last week (8th September-14th September) show that 52% of people want to stay in union with the UK and the other 48% want to have an Independent Scotland - does that sound like a decided public who all want change?