Young people in UK speak in solidarity with protests across Europe: “The capitalist system is not viable for humans”

Young people in Britain are watching the mass youth protests in France and across Europe, recognising in the demands of Gen Z demonstrators a common fight against austerity, war and genocide, and against the rise of the far-right.

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke with young people in London, Manchester, Bradford and Sheffield about building a working-class movement across Europe for socialism. Students shared their views on the protests and the political conclusions they are drawing.

At Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), Esther, who studies chemistry, said, “The protests are a normal response when people can’t do basic things because of lack of money. It’s understandable that things are on fire—lives are being vandalised. Whatever policies governments have, they are not sustainable. Some people are getting rich and so much money is spent on war. I’m against war.”

Esther, who is from Brazil, spoke about the train crash in Spain that killed 69 people, recalling a similar disaster in Brazil in 2015, “when mercury from a mine in Mariana polluted a river that ran all over Minas Gerals [a province with 21 million inhabitants].”

Esther agreed that students needed to turn to the working class, “It would be so much better if workers and students got together. We need a community so workers can stop production and still feed their kids. We have everything in the world for everyone to have a good life.”

Libby is doing an MA in Fashion marketing at MMU. She said of the protests, “It’s good because it makes people aware of the issues like the cost of living. I can’t afford anything nowadays. Job prospects are bleak, and fashion doesn’t get much funding. The Arts get low funding.”

“Immigrants are an easy scapegoat,” she continued, “Blaming everything on immigrants! And war is never worth it.” Asked about Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham, she said, “I don’t really trust politicians; I’ve not had a good run of them in my lifetime. I’d like to think there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s getting harder.”

Koladi, who studies economics at MMU, stopped at the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) bookstall with his friend David, a finance and accounting student. He explained they were struggling to find work to cover basic living costs while at university: “I’ve been looking for a job for over a year, anything.”

David said it was hard to make ends meet: “The job market, inflation, no pay rises. You can work eight hours, four days a week and only get paid £400.”

“The end stage of capitalism is horrible,” added Koladi. Pointing to the threat of nuclear war, he said: “America has the largest military in the world. They could have free health care and education if they didn’t use the money on defence.”

Stuart, an army veteran, visited the bookstall with his family. Looking at our books, he responded, “I went to Iraq. I never saw any weapons of mass destruction.” He explained that it was while doing an Archaeology degree that “I discovered Karl Marx. Once I started reading Marx, it really opened my mind up. The solution [to austerity, war, and fascism] can only be found in globalised action.” He purchased, In Defence of Leon Trotsky, The Historical and International Foundations of the Socialist Equality Party (Britain) and Marxism versus Critical Race Theory.