Vikings:

> The violent actions of the have-not's against the have's, go back to Cain and Abel, rioting in the UK started long before Margret Thatcher, It's a moral fault, not a political fault

As always, it is not as simple as it looks. After WWII the UK had to rebuild its economy. As the economy recovered many people were left behind while the middle class did better than ever. When Margaret Tatcher cfame into power the world was in the grip of the Cold War. Western countries replied to the centrally-planned economy of the Soviet Union with supply-side economics (Reaganomics, trickle down economics or whatever it might be called). Supply side economics was very good at maximizing the profits of big corporations, but it slowly eroded purchasing power from the lower segments of society. Then the early 1990s saw the worst recession since the Great Depression and unemployment increased not only in the UK but in the entire western world.

As the new technologies emerged over the last 20 years a new wave of consumer goods hit the markets and the low-income working classes have struggled to keep up with the perceived need to buy those products. We also have had changes in how children are exposed to violence and sex. The Internet, Video games and movies have desensitized youth to violence.

The end of the Cold War also left an ideological void. In the past the working classes were guided by communist principles such as better working conditions, income equality, worker's rights, etc. Marxism (whether we like it or not) gave the working class an ideological compass. The fall of the Soviet Union meant that communism was discredited as an ideology. The working class lost a viable and valid channel for social discontent. Consumerism was sold as a cure for social and income inequality. As long as the working class has enough money for Walmart and Macdonalds then the working class has "nothing: to complain about.

The riots then are fuelled by several factors:

- A culture of desensitization to violence and sexual objectification
- Income inequality (a perception of social disadvantage) and social inequality (a perception of racism)
- A lack of an outlet for social discontent
- A lack of ideological compass in the working class
- Consumerism and the inability of the poor to fully partake in it
- Unemployment among youths and immigrants

I am sure there are other factors too. Regardless of the factors involved, wanton anarchy is never justified. Protests are supposed to be constructive processes that lead to positive social change. These riots lead to nothing but a radicalization in thinking that justifies oppressive measures (think guns, water cannons, mass arrests, etc.) These riots are destructive at every level. Nothing good can come out of this.