Protest Profits to Protect People and the Planet

A fresh wave of youth strikes for climate action will hit towns and cities across the UK. More than 60 demonstrations involving tens of thousands of young people are expected. Around the world, strikes are expected in 500 towns and cities in 70 countries on Friday

In Cambridge, several hundred school children plan to lie on the ground in a “die-in” protest to demand urgent action against climate change. They will wear blue to highlight the impacts of flooding and sea level rise on future generations and on the people of Mozambique and Zimbabwe who were hit by Cyclone Idai in March.

“Young people in the UK are sending those in power a clear message: we won’t accept anything less than urgent climate action,” said Anna Taylor, 18, from London and co-founder of the UK Student Climate Network. “Our futures, the health of our environment and the lives of those around the world already suffering the devastation of the climate crisis are not up for debate. We need leaders to act to protect people and planet.”

Concern about climate change is higher than ever amongst UK students – 91% – according to a rolling opinion poll.

A government report published on Thursday showed the UK is now set to miss its 2025 and 2030 emissions targets by an even larger margin than before. “Many policies which will affect the 2020s and beyond have not yet been developed to the point at which they can be included in these projections,” it said.

The Socialist Party is far from desirous of creating the impression that we are out of sympathy with manifestations of fellow-workers discontent. Enthusiasm is an excellent and valuable thing when rightly applied. The Socialist Party is therefore concerned to do everything possible to arouse the class it represents from indifference into organised action. But equally we well know that no successful conflict with capitalism can be entered into except it be based upon a clear understanding of it. 

We are aware that all attempts to secure a sustainable eco-friendly future that is not made with knowledge about capitalist economics, are foredoomed to failure. It is impossible to separate the problems of capitalism from the system itself. The only effective protest against the effects of capitalism is to protest against the profit system itself.

The issue is plain. We can have capitalism, with its problems and its never-ending parade of protests. Or we can build a new society in which men stand equally about the world's wealth—a society of freedom and dignity. We can have capitalism or socialism. But we won't have socialism by urging people to keep up their support for capitalism. 

We won't have it by protesting that capitalism can be tamed by the right reforms, or by the right leaders, or by the right sort of demonstration. All of these have been tried and in the end it has been capitalism which has done the taming.