Riots are always an unexpected shock – until, that is, they happen. Which they do, and will do increasingly so long as the project to privatise, financialise, monetise and securitise human life continues. These measures are predicated upon and require the widening of economic inequality, the very factor that will always generate social unrest, especially if combined with police violence and racist abuse. A short while ago I visited Sweden and spoke to people who were shocked to hear about library closures, the selling off of the National Health Service and other attacks on what minimal ‘public’ and ‘social’ life is left in Britain. Some found it difficult to imagine such things happening in Sweden, and even harder to imagine any kind of uprising in response: but here you are – this is not a ‘Swedish’ problem, or a ‘national’ question but an international and a human question. It is not too late to understand why people are angry – and all you need to do is look to Britain to see a perfect example of what not to do next.
via www.metamute.org
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