Anniversary of the biggest Marxist achievement comes this year, with students taking their governments to task over the cost of living.
A weekend of protests and marches have raised concerns that we are now at the point where the widening generational gap is becoming too big to ignore.
Masses of young people have turned on their megaphones in multiple European countries within recent months, the most notable being the student protests in France, and there is no sign of their voices of discontent quieting down.
Commemorating the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1917, which was the first time a Marxist-Communist party came to government of a sovereign country, the Internationalist Workers Club (IWC) have held annual public assemblies commemorating the event.
This event this year, usually held as a tribute, has come at quite a transformative time. One of the IWC’s campaigners, Manuel, told us the organisation is following the events closely.
“It is clear that today, standing outside of this university, there is a part of the youth who are showing dissatisfaction towards the expectations of the future, for example, wars or other uncertainties,” he said.
“The key point is that every time there is discontent in the masses there has to be strategy to the demonstration, otherwise we risk the chance that it will start and fizzle out.”
The significance of the gathering on the anniversary of the October Revolution is only amplified by these events.
Manuel notes that the October Revolution “is the event which the workers were able to stop a war between two countries,” a reference to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which created an armistice between the Central Powers and the newly formed Soviet Union just after the revolution.
“Sometimes it seems like all these assignments and exams are the end of the world, but this is not the centre of life for those who want to fight to change the system.”
Manuel, IWC
With the lack of finances going into public services, the rise of the far right, and blatant corruption amongst the elite, the fears and pressure facing young people now are similar to the issues harboured by the youth movements of pre-WW2 Europe.
Partisan politics on the far left also gained traction throughout the interwar period, showcased by the influence of the Comintern during that period, as well as the peak of the Anarchist movement in the 1930s.
Manuel finds it interesting to see what young people are fighting for in the world, and stresses the importance of doing so.
“Sometimes it seems like all these assignments and exams are the end of the world, but this is not the centre of life for those who want to fight to change the system,” he notes.
Whilst everyone is drowning in the current system, those who are attending the demonstrations next week may be beginning to question the hand which looks certain to be dealt to them.
The message from organisations like the IWC is that people can always change the equation by throwing the pack of cards in the dealer’s face.
Featured image by Markus Spiske via Unsplash.