or a worker — student alliance
There are many indications that this is going to be an autumn and winter of student struggle - already we have our first student demonstration over the closure of Hornsey Art College. The mood that built up during the spring and early summer could very well explode.
Students are, of course, expressing their discontent with the present educational system and their frustrations because society has really nothing to offer them. This has to be our starting point. Workers should be very suspicious of the attempts by the capitalist press to blame trouble on agitators or on the "elitism" of the students.
Because of the power of the capitalist propaganda machine these views find echoes (sometimes of a very subtle nature) even on the left. Socialists should combat anti-student sentiments in the working class movement just as they fight against racialism. Instead the left and industrial workers should welcome the fact that students are ready to fight, using the most militant methods for their rights. Any struggle against the Government's policies by the people is to be welcomed at this stage. But there is more to it than that - the students' struggle will inspire the young workers to fight too. Moreover, their struggles, especially when they have some successes, will stimulate others who have forgotten how to fight.
In short, we can expect to see (although we fear on a much lower level) the same kind of thing in Britain as happened in France earlier this year.
The marxist left should, of course, identify itself completely with the student struggle. Each new fight brings into the fray many more soldiers for the general fight against capitalism. Students go very rapidly from fighting on their own issues (although this is where the fight best begins), to adopting a completely anti-capitalist position.
The long term effects of all this will be very healthy too. A large section of the students today will be the technicians, teachers, academic staff, etc., of tomorrow; sectors which have been very largely proletarianised by modern capitalism. It is quite old-fashioned to look upon the vast mass of the students of today as the privileged of tomorrow. This is, in fact, the basic reason for the upsurge.
Workers should give support to the struggles of the students - they will find that students will not be backward in their desire to help workers' struggles [illegible] (because of their enthusiasm). The radicalisation of the already proletarianised students will be a big factor in destroying British capitalism.