"This is the background against which one must view the riots that are taking place all across socio-economically depressed areas of London and the country. Anyone who says that they came as a surprise is denying reality. Behind the glittering facade that Britain presents, so much pent-up irritation, resentment and anger has built up that all it took was a spark to trigger an explosion."
"It is no coincidence that intelligent observers are drawing parallels between the popular uprisings taking place in the Arab spring and the street battles of this London summer. The British teens, with their hooded tops may be the citizens of a functioning democracy which is proud of being the world's oldest. But elections mean nothing to them and will not do anything to change their personal situation. The prospects of these youth in London are as dismal as those of young people in Cairo or Sana'a: They need unemployment benefits, odd jobs, state handouts and perhaps a bit of petty crime to stay afloat. The message to the British underclass couldn't be any clearer: Born poor, you will remain poor and that naturally also applies to your children and grandchildren. Your chances of winning the lottery are greater than breaking out of your class."
"In no other country in Europe is inequality as cemented in society as in the United Kingdom. Today, as in the past, a person's name, family and place of birth is decisive when it comes to establishing a career. Regardless whether a person is a politician, executive or journalist, they all went to the same schools, studied the same subjects and speak the same refined English they were taught by their parents."
"The riots are in no way a purely British problem. There is social distress all across Europe, as hard-up countries are forced to scrimp and save. And there are teenagers and 20-somethings all over who will be forced to assume a mountain of debt that has been carelessly accumulated by the postwar generation. They are already being referred to as the Lost Generation. The rioting youth in London are the ugly flip side of this generation. But they all feel lost, regardless of where they are in Europe."
