Riots Reveal the Decay of British Society

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Few other cities offer the kind of concentrated luxury for anyone who can afford it that London has. … The crisis isn't even palpable to people moving in wealthy circles. And it's not only the economic turbulence that has been largely unfelt by the super-rich, but also the effects of the brutal savings plan that Cameron's liberal-conservative government has prescribed. In other parts of the country, some can no longer afford the mortgages on their homes, but the prices of penthouse apartments in Knightsbridge or Kensington are rising sharply."

"This is the background against which one must view the riots that are taking place all across socio-economically depressed areas of London and the country. Anyone who says that they came as a surprise is denying reality. Behind the glittering facade that Britain presents, so much pent-up irritation, resentment and anger has built up that all it took was a spark to trigger an explosion."

"It is no coincidence that intelligent observers are drawing parallels between the popular uprisings taking place in the Arab spring and the street battles of this London summer. The British teens, with their hooded tops may be the citizens of a functioning democracy which is proud of being the world's oldest. But elections mean nothing to them and will not do anything to change their personal situation. The prospects of these youth in London are as dismal as those of young people in Cairo or Sana'a: They need unemployment benefits, odd jobs, state handouts and perhaps a bit of petty crime to stay afloat. The message to the British underclass couldn't be any clearer: Born poor, you will remain poor and that naturally also applies to your children and grandchildren. Your chances of winning the lottery are greater than breaking out of your class."

"In no other country in Europe is inequality as cemented in society as in the United Kingdom. Today, as in the past, a person's name, family and place of birth is decisive when it comes to establishing a career. Regardless whether a person is a politician, executive or journalist, they all went to the same schools, studied the same subjects and speak the same refined English they were taught by their parents."

"The riots are in no way a purely British problem. There is social distress all across Europe, as hard-up countries are forced to scrimp and save. And there are teenagers and 20-somethings all over who will be forced to assume a mountain of debt that has been carelessly accumulated by the postwar generation. They are already being referred to as the Lost Generation. The rioting youth in London are the ugly flip side of this generation. But they all feel lost, regardless of where they are in Europe."

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"Certainly talk will once again turn to the high unemployment rate among young people, their social exclusion and lack of opportunity. These are the catch phrases always used to explain -- if not justify -- cases in which young people act out their violent tendencies and refuse to recognize authority. The British government will also likely be named the main culprit because of its austerity measures."

"Yes, miserable social conditions can be miserable, but they are no justification for lawlessness. The police must not give the streets over to the rioters. The politicians, who are responsible for the police, should at least consider whether the 'softly-softly" approach of the British police is appropriate -- or an invitation to brutal street criminality."

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

"The situation playing out on London's streets has nothing to do with social protest. There are neither clear political goals, nor an identifiable movement with leaders. And it is mainly the victims who now face social collapse. These countless small business owners, who exist at poverty level, now stand before ruins while their customers shop at safer malls and supermarkets."

"But the reaction of this local civil society inspires hope. Financially they are on very thin ice, and they are enraged by how carelessly and stupidly the youths are destroying their own environment. The many local, self-organized cleanup initiatives show that societal forces are more imaginative than the state -- in particular David Cameron's government -- when it comes to dealing with social tensions."

The financial daily Handelsblatt writes:

"The riots reveal fundamental societal problems that extend far beyond London and England. They are too deep for the short-term austerity measures to have had much influence. There wasn't just looting in troubled areas, but also in the affluent district of Notting Hill and among the middle class in trendy Clapham. The riots reveal the decay of society at its edges, brought on by deeply cemented inequality, the erosion of social norms, great frustration and a lack of opportunity for the lower class."

"An uninhibited, unscrupulous part of society is baring its hideous face -- whether it is in the metro stations of Berlin and Munich (where random violence has shocked Germany), or on the streets of London ... The riots show that some people simply take pleasure in violence, which they engage in without inhibitions when given the opportunity."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"British Prime Minister David Cameron called the excesses 'criminality pure and simple.' … But his statements are too simple. And they distract from what lies behind the overwhelming violence: the frustration over the British elite."

"The British elite has systematically compromised itself in recent years. They claimed to be a role model, or at least trustworthy. In the economic crisis the financial establishment declared bankruptcy, and British politicians became mired in the expenses scandal of 2009. Then this year the media and politicians have been damaged by the Murdoch scandal. When the country's elites don't take the law seriously, why should we? No question is more dangerous for a society."

The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:

"The country has lost faith in every authority: the banks, politicians, the media, the police. The corruption has reached even the smallest unit -- the family. There is a generation growing up without values of any kind."

"Even when the fires are quelled and the streets are cleaned, the deeper problems will remain. Britain must have a debate over its values. They actually need someone like [controversial German anti-immigration author] Thilo Sarrazin who speaks the uncomfortable truths. Perhaps David Cameron, the super-rich prime minister with the baroness wife, who now has to lead Britain through hard times, would be a good person to do some plain talking. But everything will probably remain the same. The Brits will fall back into their standard stoic mentality. 'Keep Calm and Carry On.' Until the next riot."

The conservative Die Welt writes:

"The unrest in London is a form of hooliganism by losers who are living in a society which no longer has anything left to offer losers. Among the arsonists are people who no longer possess any values. They've gotten used to drawing money from the state and they complain when the handouts stop coming as generously as they did in the past. This is a problem that, within the foreseeable future, many more Europeans are going to be confronted with, including many young people. This is because most European countries have been living far beyond their means. They will, without exception, be forced to cut back their spending."

"And with that development, an outmoded illusion of prosperity will be lost -- namely the belief that everything will continue to get better, without us Europeans having to make much of an effort. In part, the peace in Europe of the past 66 years has also been bought through increasingly generous welfare states. But those days are over. The strength of Europe's democracy will now be measured based on how sustainably societies change their values to reflect that reality."