Out with the old 

Europe's Gen ZShort for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. are not happy. For Latvia's Anete Strupule, the future is "abstractNot having a physical existence. and apocalypticReferring to the end of the world, or the collapse of civilisation.". France's Mickael Rochat sees himself as part of "a sacrificed generation". Others have moved from despair to anger. "If it sounds like I'm furious," says Justin Liu, a British graduate, "that's because I am".

These are just three responses to a new survey. Organised by five European newspapers, it assesses the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the continent's youth.

The results are stark, reflecting a period that has seen 64% of young Europeans at risk from depression, a 15% rise from before the pandemic.

There are many reasons to be unhappy. Schools and universities have closed, disrupting education and preventing socialising. Young people have borne the brunt of job losses and precarious employment - all to protect older generations from the virus.

The pandemic has also widened other cracks. Democracy itself is under threat. The Global Democracy IndexAn annual index that tries to measure the state of democracy around the world. In 2020, Norway ranked 1st with a score of 9.81, while North Korea came last with 1.08. declared 2020 was "a very bad year". In the US, guarantorA person or thing that acts as a guarantee. A military could be called the guarantor of a country's security. of democratic values, a mob attacked the Capitol to protest a fairly-run election.

The inequalities of capitalism have become starker. The collective fortune of the world's billionaires soared to $10.2t, while millions lost their jobs. Richer countries raced to snap up vaccines, leaving others behind.

All this while the Earth burns. Climate catastrophe is moving ever closer. As one Spanish respondent says: "The previous generations have left a dreadful world and they tell us, 'You must solve this.' That simply isn't fair."

For some, the only solution is a complete overthrow of the current order. "We need a total restructuring", says one teenager. "We have so many issues to face, so many revolutions to lead," says another.

Youth rebellion is nothing new. In May 1968, a wave of student protests in France swelled into seven weeks of demonstrations, occupations and general strikes. President Charles de GaulleA French army officer and politician who led the French government in exile during World War Two before becoming president. secretly fled to Germany. Afterwards, the government greatly improved workers' rights.

Over a century earlier, the French Revolution of 1848 saw the overthrow of an unpopular king, the abolition of slavery, the removal of the death penalty for political crimes andn suffrageThe right to vote in political elections. among men.

Yet not all revolutions have ended well. In many cases, quite the opposite. Revolutions, historian Daniel Beer says, "incubate extremes". The French Revolution of 1789 gave rise to then Reign of TerrorA period between 1793 - 1974 when the French Revolution descended into a series of massacres and public excursions.. The Russian Revolution led ton Joseph StalinDictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including sentencing around a million political opponents to death and prison..

As tempting as it can be to rip it up and start again, the most sensible policy might come from refining and improving on the past and present. As Edmund BurkeIrish statesman, economist and philosopher. Often regarded as the founder of modern British conservatism. put it: "People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."

Is it time for a new revolutionary age?

Yes, say some. Evolution is too slow: we need change now. Past revolutions might have ended messily or failed to achieve all their goals. But look where decades of moderation have taken us. With rising temperatures, widening inequality and a generation growing up without hope, nothing short of a sudden, comprehensive transformation in the way we live will save us from complete catastrophe.

No, say others. Even initially successful revolutions often descend into chaos. "Those who attempt to level," said Burke, "never equalise". Many of the greatest social gains - human rights, minimum wage, universal suffrage - have come from within governments rather than through destroying them. Instead of casting the system down, we should empower politicians who pledge to do the right thing.