Some more points about the rather silly
proposal in Analysis for resolving
land conflicts. The theory is that when A and B conflict over who should get
some land, it should be auctioned off, with the loser getting the money. In
practice, it’s not always easy to identify who A and B are, and hence who should
pay and be paid. Let’s return to Northern Ireland, this time a little more
seriously. We know what the two rival groups want, a united Ireland on the one
hand and Northern Ireland to remain part of the Union on the other. But who
exactly are the groups that want this, for present purposes?

It’s easy enough to identify those groups,
and with a fairly high degree of accuracy those individuals, within
Northern Ireland who favour each of these options. But do they constitute the
rival groups, or do the rivals also include the people of the Irish Republic,
on the one hand, and the people of the United Kingdom, on the other? Who, in
this case, should pay and be paid for the fate of the six counties?

And are the six counties indivisible?
Republicans may think so, but perhaps Unionists might be prepared to
concede one or two counties when the going gets tough. I really don’t know what
Unionist attitudes are towards this question, so it’s a little hard to say.

And the point about the currency in which
the auction is to be conducted is especially pressing here. During the worst
years of the troubles, I’d be surprised if there could even be an agreement
reached over whether British or Irish pounds were to be used in an auction. (US
dollars wouldn’t have been satisfactory to the British, and heaven knows what
would happen if someone suggested using Euros as the currency du jour.)
Maybe I’m exaggerating here, but I’d be reasonably confident that if the
two sides are being co-operative enough to agree on the questions that must be
agreed upon antecedent to such an auction, they would be co-operative enough to
agree on a settlement that does much more to improve the quality of life for
those on each side than a total (bought) victory for either side could possibly
do.