Protests and alibi-makers. Why love the West at least as much as a Prada cap

The alibi-makers have spent the last few hours desperately searching for a way to explain how, behind the violence we have witnessed in recent days on the streets of some of Italy’s major cities, there lies – in truth – not only firecrackers but also a genuine sentiment stemming from a deep-seated discontent amongst young people, which politicians have a duty to listen to. The argument put forward by the alibi-makers contains a grain of truth, and there are a thousand reasons why the younger generations might well have cause for discontent: wages that are too low, schools that are too dilapidated, social mobility that is too slow, and too little focus on developing human capital. The detail, however, that often seems to have escaped the ‘alibi-makers’ is that many of the demonstrations seen in recent days – both peaceful and violent – have placed at the centre of the protest objectives that have nothing whatsoever to do with youth discontent.

People take to the streets to protest about wages, education, housing, the environment and rights. But when people take to the streets to protest, the target is not just the government of the day, whatever it may be, but is broader, wider and more general. Against capitalism, military spending, the United States, NATO, the Common Defence Policy, Israel, the arms industry, the police, vast fortunes, unearned income, privileges, windfall profits; against the market, multinationals, investment funds and speculators. Ultimately, the protests taking place in Italian town squares—squares where the purveyors of excuses thrive but where, fortunately, the opportunists have not yet taken on the organised and widespread form seen in France—may stem from demands capable of arousing empathy, but they tend to be directed at a single, overarching target: a generalised hatred of the West.

Melanie Phillips, a long-standing columnist for The Times, recalled yesterday how, in 2023, a renowned British professor, David Betz, a lecturer in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, argued that civil wars would soon break out in several Western European countries, the first of which would be in Britain and France, due to a dangerous combination of culturally fragmented societies, economic stagnation, a collapse in public confidence in the ability of traditional politicians to solve problems, and the development of strategies by revolutionary groups to target critical infrastructure. It is difficult to argue that Italy is at this stage, but given the existing risk of destabilisation, there are certain tasks that should be addressed.

The role of politics is to ensure the law is upheld, without necessarily having to increase penalties to enforce rules that already exist. The role of the police is to crack down on violence when necessary, without necessarily having to heed politicians who first criticise the police for not doing enough and now worry that the police might take action in the run-up to the forthcoming clashes. Alongside the responsibilities of institutions and public authorities, there is also a more delicate task that falls to parents, who, when faced with their own children – and not just the most unruly ones – should occasionally ask themselves a question that is not so obvious: are we doing enough to explain to our children that the West against which they are protesting – including the capitalism they are rallying against – a capitalism detested in words but opposed by means different from the past (whereas once McDonald’s were set alight, today luxury shops are smashed up so that people can help themselves to the products of capitalism) – is the source of the solutions to the problems for which these young people are protesting? Prevention is a duty; repression may be necessary; but rather than merely providing context, parents – not just those of the young people taking to the streets – might ask themselves whether they are doing everything necessary to give their children valid reasons to love the West at least as much as a Prada cap.