Spain should grant Catalonia its Independence

I'd like to begin not with statistics, but with some slightly abstracted Political Science. Whether Spain should grant Catalonia its independence entirely depends on the terms by which Spain claims to have dominion over the Catalonian people. By dominion, I only mean political power, that is, "the right to make laws"with the death penalty and consequently all lesser penalties"for regulating and preserving property, and to employ the force of the community in enforcing such laws and defending the commonwealth from external attack; all this being only for the public good" (With the exception of the death penalty perhaps, I"m sure you"ll find this definition"which is John Locke"s"adequate). There are two ways by which a government comes to have dominion over a person: through voluntary subjection, which is caused by the one ruled, and involuntary subjugation, which is caused by the one ruling. Subjection is justified on the basis of contract: the one ruled naturally has the right to act for his own good, to protect his interests, which he surrenders to the government in return for some perceived benefit. It should be noted that if a multitude should be ruled by one government, that government is able to act as a singularity on behalf of the multitude; such that one government may voluntarily subject itself to another, as though it were a person. So then, subjection occurs between two governments as well as between one government and one person. Involuntary subjugation however, only occurs between governments. Subjugation is justified on the basis of the incompetence of the government being subjugated. If a government should commit injustice upon its citizens, it ceases to be a government proper, therefore resigning its sovereign status. It is by this reason that one state can be said to justly invade and hold dominion over another, which would otherwise be considered sovereign. Thus, the relationship between the states of Spain and Catalonia must be understood in one of these two ways; either Catalonia is subject to Spain voluntarily, because the Catalonian government recognizes that subjection to the other is beneficial for the Catalonian people, or because the Spanish government recognizes that the Catalonian government is transgressing the contract made with its people and is dealing unjustly with them"this is the difference between Republic and Empire. To the point then: should Spain grant Catalonia its independence? According to Spanish law, no. In the very first section of the preliminary part of the Spanish constitution, Spain is said to be a "democratic state. "1 Involuntary subjugation, while justified in certain circumstances, is by no means democratic. Spain, therefore, must be considering Catalonia to be ruled by voluntary subjection, that is, by contract. This is quite obvious, that the Spanish government considers itself a union of diverse regions and nationalities; it claims the Spanish union to be "indissoluble. "2 There is no way, therefore, that Catalonia may declare independence in accord with Spanish law. In accord with Natural law, that is, Reason, however, Spain should grant Catalonia its independence if so demanded. Because the Catalonian people have subjected themselves voluntarily through contract to the Catalonian government, and that government has in turn subjected itself to the Spanish government in behalf of the people governed, the right to voluntarily terminate the continuous contract must be reserved. As long as Spain claims to be more Republic than Empire, the Catalonian government must be allowed sovereignty. This being the case, what you"ve said may very well be true, that the effects of a Catalonian secession from Spain might be catastrophic to both states, as well as the whole of Europe. This does not in any way negate the Catalonian right to independence. It is the duty of every educated person, to persuade the Catalonians to make the right decision, but in the end, the decision must be Catalonian lest democracy be in truth tyranny. In short, as Catalonia has formally requested independence, Spain must grant it. 1. Preliminary Part, Section 1, 1 2. Preliminary Part, Section 2