Some in our nation have our history wrong. In light of discussions regarding Ukraine and wider conflicts, the British political class have attempted to galvanise young people with ideas of service to the British state. To specify – the establishment newspaper outlets, elements of Keir Starmer’s cabinet, and the growing far-right Reform UK, have shown their willingness to compel young people to serve king and country.
They’ve attempted to leverage notions of Britain’s Second World War triumph and National Service (discontinued in 1963) to admonish the young, 14% of whom, as we keep hearing, are not in work, education, or training. Their attempts at historical citation are often misused, sometimes just factually incorrect, and this narrative will continue to hurt a generation which has already been mistreated.
War in British memory: fetishised to send the working class to the frontline
“If it weren’t for them, you’d be speaking German … we’d all be speaking German” goes the line from schoolteachers to politicians. The generation whose responsibility it was to defend the British shores from Nazi encroachment hold a rightly venerated place in British political and social memory. Young men and women who held firm against Nazi tyranny which swept through France in little but six weeks, have mostly passed away. Anyone who came into contact with veterans of that generation will know their lives were immeasurably different to the ones that their children faced. But the legacy of other war-torn generations remains oversimplified in Britain’s memory.
The most poignant example of this phenomenon which is not too much discussed, is the First World War, which litters the iconography of British military remembrance. The poppy is nominally a symbol of British appreciation to those who volunteered to give their lives. However, it’s utilised by British nationalists who fetishise historical crimes, and use it as an excuse to suggest sending the working class to the front line. One can observe that this symbol does not do justice to the true history of the First World War and other conflicts, as a series of futile tragedies which needlessly took the lives of generations.
Not telling the whole truth on remembrance
Ad infinitum, the poppy and the whole idea of remembrance leaves behind the rage that many (including veterans) feel about the truth of war and international conflict. One should feel grateful and appreciative at the lives given by men in the 6 years between 1939 and 1945, which halted fascist imperialism and its overtake of all Europe. But the purposeful waste and ruin of lives by decision-makers in the 318 year history of the British military is a nauseating disgrace. This is without even really discussing the genuinely countless millions who were murdered by British imperialist projects following the 1707 Act of Union and 1914, where the vast majority of Britain’s wars were offensive and not defensive.
In recent decades, when young people join the military, they usually come from poor backgrounds, in neglected towns, and do so as a way of getting out, or having experiences they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. These working-class kids are brought into the system, which is more-often-than-not just a job for them, and are then taught to serve a set of institutions whose material intentions involve the killing of innocent people.
‘Unpatriotic’ young people
If they survive, they are promptly spat out and frequently end up jobless and homeless, severed from state welfare. What’s more is that if we ignore this, they will continue to be ensnared by this country’s political right.
In contemplating where our global situation is, and how this particular idea of remembrance disregards the politics of class in our society, where does it leave the young? In pure and simple terms, according to the top military spokespersons, if the country were to be invaded by a reasonably well equipped foreign state, it would be hopeless. We know this fact from the February 18th speech given by defence secretary John Healy, who seems increasingly anxious at the current capacity of the British state to field manpower and armaments. An intelligent follow-up question should be, then, why do the young feel so unwilling to join the military and serve the state?
Ask any follower of the British right-wing this question and you get the answer that the generation currently undergoing late adolescence or early adulthood is simply too idle or “unpatriotic” to undertake the defence of their communities. What a flagrant load of bullshit.
When your government breaks their promises
The founding idea in modern liberal political theory is the idea of the social contract – in that if all members of a society give over some of their autonomy to the state and the government, they will be able to live in stability, and perhaps prosperity. This notion, widely understood in the pre and post-WW2 era, has completely vanished. If you listen to popular political commentators and economic analysts on the left, then you would know that this is because of neoliberalism.
The way that movement for ultra-capitalism stripped working people of job security, and any hope of social welfare, has led many young working-class people to completely forgo the idea of a permanent home, a stable career, and a steady community. Socialists and anarchists know that the economy puts assets in the hands of a small number of people, and that the state will protect itself before its citizens. But not being surprised doesn’t help anyone when your society continues to crack.
Autonomy for our communities who won’t stand for exploitation any longer
What we should be demanding is autonomy for our communities, so they can make their own decisions on matters of welfare, community support, and self-reliance. Taking the current system as it is however, if you’re going to ask working people to potentially sign over their lives, you need to make and keep your promises. You need to give them something to fight for, rather than only something to fight against, however dangerous the adversary.
The British Welfare State was not a generous offer of charity from the establishment to ‘the poor’ of 1950s Britain; it was a concession given to those who lived under systems of exploitation and likely wouldn’t stand for it any longer. With the probability of global conflict in our lifetimes, working people are yet to see anything of the sort.
Featured image via the Canary
