As is always the case after any unexpected social schism, policymakers and journalists are all casting about for something to blame for the riots. The current leading candidates seem to be either the ineffectual government response to the initial trouble or some wishy-washy 'these people have political goals' explanation. However, I think that if Britain really wants to be honest about the cause of these riots, we need look no further than the nearest mirror.
Over the past decade Britain has become a more and more individualistic society to the point where I'm not sure what being British means any more. As a country I'd be hard pushed to come up with the defining characteristics of what makes the country 'British.' The term British itself has become increasingly associated with right-wing racist nutjobs ('Keep Britain for the British' etc.) and looking externally for some form of reinforcement doesn't provide much help in the post-colonial era. Britain used to be an innovator in engineering and science, but if we're brutally honest America has kind of usurped that role - leaving us to become a service economy with no inherent identity.
A perfect example of this can be seen if we compare the opening ceremony of the Vancouver winter Olympics with the 'trailer' for the London 2012 summer Olympics. Canada showed the world a rich cultural history of its native peoples, an earnestness of spirit and a dash of self-deprecating humour (c.f. the closing ceremony after the high-profile set malfunction). Sure there were touches of cultural stereotyping, but that was the spice not the steak.
What did Britain have? Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin playing electric guitar on top of a red London bus. I feel kind of entitled to ask, where's the beef?
The knock-on effect of all of this is that people in Britain no longer have an identity to aspire to. Modern British celebrities like Richard Branson or Simon Cowell tend to be best known for being famous, rather than as business wizards or record industry moguls. Sporting heroes fare no better, as often they're better known for drug use, prostitution or starting drunken fights.
So where does that leave British youth? It leaves them with only one aspiration - fame. Fame has become the main aspiration in British society, mostly with the vain hope that a paycheck can somehow be eked out by simply being 'you.' It used to be that people wanted to be famous for something, now they just want to be famous (try asking the average fameseeker why they want to be famous - I'd be surprised if you get a quantifiable response). The reality is that most people aren't going to become famous, so instead the next best thing is for people to surround themselves with the trappings of fame - shiny, expensive objects.
Britain has become a society based on the deification of possessions - the rioters aren't looking for fairer representation or job creation, they're looking for flat-screen televisions and new trainers. This is what they have become socialised to want, neatly bypassing all political process.
The current overwhelming social aspiration is 'must have nice stuff.' The classic route to this would have been get an education, get a job, save some money, buy the nice stuff. However, we now have a situation where there aren't enough jobs, or at least that's the perception. So instead of buying the things people view as indicators of success (flatscreen TVs) people are going straight to obtaining it by whatever means necessary. Couple this with the quality of education going down (yet becoming more expensive with EMAs being axed and university tuition fees going up) and steady cuts to numbers of police officers over the past decade and we have a worryingly permissive situation for social entropy.
This has played itself out as kids taking to the streets because they don't see the property they're smashing up as belonging to people who have worked hard to build businesses. They see it as stuff they can just take because they want it. But these riots are only the symptoms of what is wrong in our society - not the disease. The disease is a complete lack of social responsibility and societal attachment.
It's too much to hope for that this will cause industry, the media and our government to focus on a positive path out of the culture we've helped create. There won't be a sudden turnaround to focus on creating jobs and innovation in growth industries (clean energy or medical technology) that would turn us away from a service economy. The sort of change that would also necessitate an improved school system that teaches kids how to add, understand the building blocks of our universe and teach them to critical reasoning. We're beyond charismatic politicians and silver bullets. But can we at least look at whether we're happy with the society we have now?
While I don't expect a sudden period of self-reflection after these riots, I hope that there will at least be some effort to understand the systematic inequalities that have pervaded British society in the last twenty years. We need to look at access to quality education, a lack of good parenting and why a materialistic culture is all we have to offer the globe. Maybe we could think about some of that instead of focusing on the return of Big Brother on Channel 5.
Author's note: It's worth pointing out that for a lot of people Britain is synonymous with England - leaving out the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish. For the purposes of this article I've used Britain as a catchall term meaning more generally the UK. I don't really think any of the home nations are exempt from the societal problems expressed above. I also love Jimmy Page, it wasn't his fault.
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Britain is an old culture, whose days maybe numbered. The Anglo-Saxon element which once made up the core of our cultural dynamism has been dissapated and is now very unsure of itself. Like all once politically dominant cultures as well, we have become tired and have lost much of what once drove us to spread our influence around the world. Indeed it is Britain that is increasingly now being influenced by outsiders more and more. The econony has also become entirely dependant on borrowed money (as indeed has most of the Western World), because the Modern Capitalist paradigm which first took shape here in Britain, which spread around the Globe as we expanded our Empire has shifted emphasis. The manufacturing of goods which we once excelled at is no longer our forte. We have stopped relying on making things so much. Making money is the be and end all now. That is the root of nearly all the problems we face (as indeed it is for most of the economies of the Western World) in a nutsell.
Thje difficulty of course is finding some alternative.
You're right that Britain is an old culture, but I feel like elements like deference, education and respect for other people are ageless qualities that we should hold onto like grim death. Britain's education system is still highly respected around the world, with students from BRIC countries flocking here to get a great education and grow their own economies. Unfortunately that education doesn't seem to be doing the same for our own economy and we need to ask why.
I agree about goods manufacture and worry that we've now fired too many people and decommissioned too many factories to parlay that experience into growth industries. We needed to be looking ahead thirty years ago, not resting on the vestiges of colonial prestige. In reality our only remaining asset for global influence is our highly trained army and the will to deploy it. Sadly we're slowly crushing it with cuts and overstretching it in Afghanistan.
Some people in the US, people who have always felt that the UK and other European countries were too "socialist" are blaming the riots on Britain's "welfare state". They believe that young people have "too much" and that's why they just rioted and took things... They have been raised in a culture of "entitlement". They also believe this is a good reason for the US to cease such "entitling" behavior as we don't want these kind of riots to happen in the US.
I do not agree with such conclusions, but I would like to know what others, particularly those in the UK, feel about this.
If these kids had not been raised in a "social welfare" state, would they have rioted?
I'm intensely proud of our National Health System and think it's one of the things that makes our country greatest - no matter how poor or sick you are, we have healthcare that truly leaves no one behind. American friends of mine who can't afford healthcare or are refused insurance because of a jellyfish sting make me very glad I would never have to chose between paying the mortgage and buying medication.
But I digress. The problem is that all of these perks (NHS, welfare for the unemployed, state funded schools) used to instill a sense of community and responsibility to give back. Now there's only a personalistic attitude that 'of course the state is going to be there to help people.' I don't agree with Cameron's proposed plans to cut benefits/state support to rioters but he does make a point. If you're not prepared to function as a productive member of society, why should the state be taking care of you? The idea of a social contract has kind of disappeared in recent years in the UK.
I don't think it is just a British problem. At least I hope not. I think in general we are proud to be British, we just don't voice it as much as some other countries do.