Conclusion: The End of the Golden Age

After swarms of British students had taken to the streets to vent their anger at cuts in education and increases in tuition fees, it was the turn of tens of thousands of public-sector workers who, in July 2011, protested against the brutal austerity measures imposed by David Cameron’s government. They were followed by rampaging youths a month later who turned some British cities into war zones. In Greece street protests, sometimes violent, have become a daily occurrence. Young Spanish indignados, facing a bleak future, took over the famous Puerta del Sol in Madrid’s centre, camping day and night for months to vent their frustrations. The list continues, and social strife is likely to worsen and become part of the European landscape. Though Europe has seen protests before, some larger and more intense, the difference this time is the general feeling of helplessness, a sense that there is little hope in terms of solutions or of a future, that there is no light at the end of this tunnel. For young people, there is also a feeling that their future has been stolen from them. It is not just a question of tightening belts for a while to get over a slump: this is how people’s lives are going to be from now on. Governments are at a loss to offer any remedy except for more taxes and austerity measures. Across most of Europe is settling the feeling of a hangover after a party.