Violet Forrie and Ray Goerke
Youth have always been on the forefront of struggles for social change. Less burdened by the sting of past defeats, they look forward and see the world as it could be. On the horizon of today’s world is war and genocide, climate disasters, rising poverty and inequality, and emboldened far-right racism, sexism, and transphobia. Against all of this, youth can picture a future of liberation and peace within our lifetimes, and some have the will to fight for it.
But history doesn’t move in a straight line: there are both victories and setbacks. Youth can become disillusioned when the real world doesn’t match their ideals of justice, fairness, and equality. Many young activists are asking themselves, “how many times do we have to march and shout in the streets in crowds of tens, hundreds of thousands, day-after-day, until something changes?” The key is to learn the right lessons from past movements, to understand what is necessary to win.
Youth-led struggles around the world
In Kenya, youth-led demonstrations against President Ruto’s anti-poor tax hike sparked a mass movement. The state responded with violence and repression, but this backfired. The movement spread and grew across gender and ethnic lines within the working class of Kenya, and President Ruto was forced to withdraw the tax hike.
Bangladeshi President Sheik Hasina was overthrown and forced into exile after brutal state crackdowns on student protests against government corruption. The new pro-business provisional government, backed by the military and imperialist allies, seeks to maintain the status quo as much as possible; but these student-led protests inspired a nation-wide strike of textile workers, resulting in a near-revolution.
Serbia is being rocked by protests and solidarity general strikes against government corruption, sparked by a train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people. Youth and students have led these protests by organizing democratic councils in their communities and universities. The movement spread to the labour movement which organized several day-long general strikes. Nationwide protests took place in over 275 cities, and a rally in the capital had over 300,000 people, the largest in Serbia’s history. The movement stands on the brink of a revolutionary situation.
Across the world the Palestinian solidarity movement gathered far more support than capitalists and their politicians were prepared for. The mass outcry has pushed the needle of public opinion. Rallies, demos and encampments in solidarity with Palestinians had an impact in forcing governments to limit their outward support of the Israeli regime Further escalation, not just in rhetoric but in organization, including coordinated and targeted strike action in the labour movement, is needed to push further.
How do we win?
All these movements won significant yet limited victories. What holds them back is the rudimentary level of organization and lack of political leadership. In “leaderless” movements, those taking part have effectively no say over the direction, program, and tactics of the movement as a whole. Democratically elected and accountable leadership are necessary to maintain the movement in the face of concerted state repression, which always comes.
Youth can, and do, start struggles, but victories need the power of the working class. Capitalist society fosters and maintains exploitation and oppression of all forms, and only the working class has the leverage to grind capitalist society to a halt. A political organization built by-and-for the working class, armed with a socialist program and resolutely opposed to all forms of injustice and oppression could draw together grassroots organizations of workers and oppressed groups, trade unions, and student bodies under a united banner for the liberation of all.
Youth are often moved by their sense of justice and unwillingness to accept the world as it is, and this propels them to the forefront of struggles. When inevitably movements face setbacks and sometimes defeats, the point is not to despair but to understand. History provides lessons, both negative and positive. Movements succeed when they inspire the wider working class to struggle against the system and for a socialist future.
