Regeneration

Defining the world’s young people as those born after 1979 – a hugely symbolic moment in the history of globalisation – it reflects on the massive growth in generational protest across the globe thirty years later. At its heart is an analysis of politics through the prism of generation. The incapacity of the major political parties in Britain to think beyond their short-term electoral interests is, by definition, particularly harmful for those at the beginning of their lives. It has led to a failure to act on climate change and to savage cutbacks in education and training, an acute shortage of housing, big cuts in youth services, and, for many, the prospect of an old age without pensions. Things have deteriorated to the point where many young people are finding it impossible to find the wherewithal to settle down and have families – the classic marks of adulthood. But, as Shiv Malik argues in his preface, a diagnosis of the problem does not absolve the young from taking responsibility for developing solutions. We need more than ‘a whinge of epic proportions’. And, as he also points out, the young are well placed to develop alternatives: ‘we are the most well-educated, innovative, dynamic and open generation in human history’. This means that this book also has plenty of ideas for changing the future. Chapter "Forget markets: it’s ownership that really matters" by Ben Little argues that the left's focus on the marketisation of everything over the last 30 years has been misplaced. It suggests that left activism and policy making should return its focus to property and ownership, not just for the sake of equality, but to combat alienation and give people a stake in their work