Why is Gen Z revolting?
From France to India, young people are taking to the streets over inequality, failing schools and bleak prospects. Oscar Berglund argues a wave of governance failures is fuelling the 'Gen Z' protest wave.
A wave of youth-led protests sweeping Europe and beyond has raised a familiar question: why is Gen Z revolting? Writing for Al Jazeera, academic Oscar Berglund argues the answer lies in inequality, failing public services and bleak prospects for the future.
In France, the protests began weeks ago over deteriorating conditions in severely underfunded schools. In India, the "Cockroach" movement has become the strongest challenge yet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In Spain, anger has flared over a broken housing system and laws that fail to protect households.
While the context differs in each country, Berglund writes, inequality sits at the heart of them all. Across Europe, inequality has grown sharply since the 2008 financial crisis — a burden felt most acutely by young people. Underfunded schools have contributed to falling educational attainment, even as the rapid rise of artificial intelligence reshapes the labour market and threatens entry-level jobs.
Housing is another front: today's young people are far less likely to own a home than previous generations. On top of all this, the climate crisis represents, in his words, "perhaps the largest governance failure of them all."
Governments, Berglund argues, have largely responded with repression — part of a global trend of criminalising protest. What is really needed, he concludes, are genuine efforts to tackle the inequalities and governance failures driving young people onto the streets.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.