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In 2009, a joint study published by Cambridge and Sunderland universities, entitled Strangers in Paradise, examined the experiences of forty undergraduate students at an elite university. In terms of hometown, ethnicity, and religious belief, the sample offered a broad demographic. However, the participants did possess one unifying characteristic: they were all working class. The study found that those students from lower-level social backgrounds encountered dilemmas not shared by their middle class peers. A need for self-affirmation amongst their more cultured counterparts; desire to keep in touch with their social background; and maintenance of familial loyalties were common themes amongst those observed and interviewed. Yet, the paper claimed, in spite of these struggles, the working class students developed an ability to comfortably drift between their modest home lives and a top academic institution. It is this versatility that the student Left has failed, in its attempt to combat the effects of austerity on UK towns and cities, to utilise fully. Currently, Britain is experiencing its longest fall in living standards since the 1870’s. Whilst energy companies continue to hike up tariffs, household income is shrinking; disabled people are seeing their benefits slashed; whilst cuts of £20bn to the NHS are to be implemented by 2015. Moreover, owing to the failure of successive governments, there are currently five million people on council house waiting lists. Working class, deindustrialised communities, north and south, continue to experience the same marginalisation and alienation which has arguably come to define a generation. Mainstream political neglect, economic hardship, and social upheaval: intertwined and palpable – these are the processes which have left hundreds of communities isolated. In the midst of the angst and frustration spawned from their continued struggles, and the in-effectiveness of a London-based liberal Labour party to represent them, the poorest in society have turned to parties that wish to manipulate the anxieties of the underprivileged. Ukip, led by the former stockbroker Nigel Farage, wish to abolish inheritance tax and charge people to see a doctor. The party’s rhetoric is plentiful in scapegoats: yet devoid of explanations or solutions for the poor and disillusioned. Whether a protest vote; a cry for help; or a floundering of working class arms as they are consumed further into a whirlpool of debt and suffering, the accrual of support for right-wing groups, such as Farage’s and the BNP, is reactionary, and dangerously so. The engagement of students, who originate from these hard- hit areas, by leftist movements, could alter this trend and reinstate a political voice for the disadvantaged via an insightful and informed grassroots movement. The immersion in the difficulties and processes which exist in these constrained regions, experienced by working class students, could bring real understanding of grave issues affecting millions of Britons to the forefront of the university Left. Indeed, with greater input from those disadvantaged students, leftist societies would find themselves making greater strides by digressing from the university bubble. Former industrial heartlands such as Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds – home to some of the largest student populations in the UK, are surrounded by inner-city suburbs and smaller towns: which are exemplars of the savage extent of the austerity programme. Moreover, London, with over 300,000 student inhabitants, is one of the most unequal cities on earth. Communication and co-operation with the wider community could help to see a new type of class politics formed: one which is not reliant on the condemning of the unemployed, immigrants, and the disabled. The prospect of greater political participation from working class students, in the university Left, is dependent upon a clear commitment to tackling social inequality in Britain. Whilst demonstrations concerning international issues, such as Palestine, are highly credible in their motives, these can seem rather abstract and somewhat irrelevant to those students who derive from tough social circumstances. The passion and rage, supplied by a group which embodies the sense of desertion felt in impoverished communities like their own, could prove vital to repealing the grasp which far right groups have over sections of struggling towns and cities. By arousing a sense of hope and greater understanding in a time of increasing political disenchantment, the student Left could prove to be a vital force in aiding the most deprived in British society. Not a force of cruel manipulation which perpetuates existing problems – but a force of empowerment. By Ben Breach
#leftwing#left wing#socialism#democratic socialism#dsa#left leaning#leftsit#politics#university#liberal politics#progressive politics
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Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet
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Mother should i trust the government?
#street art#london street art#political street art#political art#question#government#resist trump#trump#anti trump art#anti establishment#anti government#anarchy#fuck the police#political artist#political quote
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Wear resistance on your sleeve: http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/our-issues/wear-resistance-sleeve Fave: police the police t-shirt
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Fight the blockade against #Gaza. Join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. End the occupation. https://www.allriot.com/product/peace-for-palestine-gaza-t-shirt/ #BDS
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No fracking way mate
We will never give up sacred land for tar sands! No fracking way! https://www.allriot.com/product/no-fracking-way-t-shirt/
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The Liberal Uprising
his November will be a watershed moment for the American electorate: It will be the first presidential election in which Generation Y—a.k.a.: Millennials—makes up the same proportion of the U.S. voting-age population as the Baby Boomers. And if there’s one thing people are learning about this young generation, it’s that they are liberal. Even leftist. Flirting with socialist. In Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, more than 80 percent of voters under 30 years old voted for Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist so outside the mainstream of his party that he’s not even a member. Whether or not Sanders scores an upset victory in the Democratic race—and to be fair, his odds look long—his support raises a serious question for future elections about the generation wave of voters. Why are young people so liberal; what’s behind their revolutionary spirit; and how close are they to ushering in a true liberal political revolution? Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/02/the-liberal-millennial-revolution/470826/
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The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.
Karl Marx
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Marxism
#marxism#karl marx#marx facts#marxist#communism#socialism#socialist#the communist manifesto#communist manifesto
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Humanity
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Liberalism and Progressive Views in Fashion
Liberalism is a political worldview that is founded on liberty and equality ideas. A liberal person promotes a wide range of views depending on their comprehension of these principles. However, they endorse ideas such as freedom of speech, religion, civil rights and press. One significant way that a liberal person can express their views is through wearing liberal t-shirts with images or wordings that speak their mind. These items communicate a person’s disregard for the present world order by applying progressive and revolutionary graphics to t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and other apparel. They also attract attention and help the world identify what you believe in. What is the Difference between Liberal and Progressive Views? Liberal people love winning arguments, and they do not believe that any arguments are too offensive or out-of-bounds to be debated politically. As such a liberal person can have no limit to their sense of fashion no matter how explicit, the clothing they wear is. They can wear political liberal t-shirts that touch on sensitive issues such as same-sex marriage or political figures. On the other hand, people with progressive views feel that a culture where some things ought not to be said is ideal. Therefore, an individual with progressive views that relate to fashion may be uncomfortable wearing liberal political t-shirts that touch on issues that people would rather leave unspoken. There are numerous fashion styles that can cater to the needs of diverse people. Whether you are liberal or have progressive views, there is clothing that speaks your mind through graphics or texts. You can opt to buy readymade ones or order customized items. Liberal people are not dowdy; they dress well and have a great sense of style as they are open to any ideas that appeal to them. More importantly, their opinions are vital as they tend to say what other people cannot comfortably say. They believe that big ideas are born from those who had the courage to make them the norm. If you wish to promote progressive and revolutionary movements through deeds, you can purchase any the numerous companies that encourage activism by selling liberal political t-shirts online. In so doing you can show the world what you stand for through what you wear. Remember that before making a purchase, it is essential to ascertain that the message the clothing is passing along goes hand in hand with your beliefs. In so doing, you do not appear ignorant. Instead, you seem knowledgeable, and people can hold you in high regards.
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DEMOCRACY DOGE POLITICAL T-SHIRT BY ALLRIOT
#Doge#meme#Obama#hope#poster#Democracy#election#liberal t-shirt#political t-shirts liberal#liberal#political#t-shirt#shirt#tee#tshirts#tshirt#graphic t-shirts#urban t-shirts#political tshirts#bernie sanders#jeremy corbyn
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Allriot t-shirt: https://www.allriot.com/shop
#street#art#graffiti#streetwear#t-shirt#shirt#tee#tshirts#tshirt#graphic t-shirts#street art#london street art#political street art#politics#london#uk#funny art#political art
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Chains of Patriarchy Feminist T-shirt by ALLRIOT
#chains#patriarchy#feminist#women#symbol#oppression#equality#ladies#liberal t-shirt#political t-shirts liberal#liberal#political#t-shirt#shirt#tee#tshirts#tshirt#graphic t-shirts#urban t-shirts#political tshirts#bernie sanders#jeremy corbyn
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