Young people around the world are feeling the crises of capitalism particularly keenly. In 2024, almost 70 million young people in the world did not have a job.In the summer of 2023, youth unemployment in China was at 20 percent. Now it is officially 15%, but only because the calculation method has been changed. In a lot of countries of the world, I africa, in the Middle East, in Europe, young people find less jobs. Youth unemployment is the result of capitalism in the world!

A petty-bourgeois Chinese sociologist says about this situation: “Right now we are going through a phase of confusion, of reflection. It is a phase of rethinking the meaning of life.”

We are happy to rethink the meaning of life!

The imperialist world system has to involve more and more people in the production process in order to exploit them for its insatiable hunger for maximum profit. In Afghanistan, families send their 10-year-old sons to work in the Taliban's illegal coal mines - without any safety equipment. Afghanistan is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world - and yet 97% of families say they cannot feed their children adequately. Capitalism knows no young or old when it comes to exploitation - and is thus creating more and more of its own gravediggers! The young people thus become workers themselves and are steeled for life and struggle. See Bangladesh: without the courageous struggles of the textile workers as pioneers, it would not have been possible for the students and the people's movement in Bangladesh to drive out the fascist president!

The world today is very complicated. That is why Lenin was right when he said:

“If I now approach the question of the tasks of youth from this point of view, I must say that these tasks (...) can be expressed in a single word: The task is to learn.” (Lenin, Works, Vol. 31, p. 272)

But what must the youth learn?

1) Youth is a beautiful, dynamic and complicated phase. Youth is one of the most beautiful and at the same time most difficult times in human life. They are open to new things, want to experience something and are the least attached to the old society. Due to their inexperience, however, they are also particularly susceptible to influence - and the ractionary forces in society know this! If the right progressive and Marxist-Leninist ideas accelerate the consciousness, enthusiasm, struggle and rebellion of the youth, they can also steer the speed of the revolution in the right direction. In order to achieve the goals of the revolution , the courage and bravery of the youth are an important prerequisite. But young people cannot fight for social change on their own, since this is not a matter of age but a matter of class.

Young people must learn to form a fighting unit with the older generation in the fight against overconfidence or arrogance.

2) Revolutionary ideas, i.e. a revolutionary ideology, are just as important as an organization for the revolution. If the youth do not acquire the right progressive and revolutionary ideas, they will degenerate into a critical appendage of capitalism. Therefore, Lenin proposed a way to transform the enthusiasm of the youth into passion by teaching them the right organizational principles. With ideological insight, organizationally united, mentally strong and with best possible health, the youth movement can strengthen the movement against the threat of world war, environmental catastrophe and worldwide tendency towards fascism and make its own contribution.

Lenin said:

“This is one of the reasons why we absolutely advocate the organizational independence of the youth league, not only because the opportunists fear this independence, but also because of the essence of the matter. For without complete independence, the youth will not be able to develop into good socialists and prepare themselves to lead socialism forward. For the complete independence of youth organizations, but also for the full freedom of comradely criticism of their mistakes! We must not flatter the youth.” (Lenin: “Youth International” (note), Works, Vol. 23, p. 164)

Young people must learn to organize themselves!

3) The development of the youth movement is not spontaneous. When spontaneous struggles flare up, we must develop consciousness in them to a higher level and promote the right political ideas, the right philosophy, the right ideals. Lenin said that only a genuine Marxist workers' party can educate the youth movement and create revolutionary ideas in the youth. Building a strong revolutionary party is not possible without Leninist organizational principles and strict party discipline. A weak and chaotic party cannot fight against world imperialism, global environmental catastrophe and fascism.

Therefore, we should make the building of strong revolutionary partiesour cause. We must fight against organizational hostility and non-commitment.

4) Today, world imperialism is trying to corrupt the youth. Capitalism has encouraged personal ambition, greed and temptations in the youth. It aims to weaken the socialist movement and divide the youth.

The youth must learn to understand capitalism and cope with the influences of its bourgeois ideology - we need a progressive and proletarian culture with friendship, cohesion and international solidarity!

5) The youth doesn’t only want to dream but to realize their goals!

Lenin led the October Socialist Revolution in 1917 - with the emergence of the socialist camp, a third of humanity was liberated from exploitation and oppression - a dream come true! Today, imperialism is raging all over the world and showing its ugly face. In such a situation, the socialist/communist ideology of liberation, is an inspiring ideal for the world's rebellious youth! Social perspectives such as socialism must be part of the struggle. A movement that does not know where it wants to go can easily be influenced.

Socialism must become an integral part of a broad anti-fascist and anti-imperialist international youth movement or become more firmly anchored in it.

Even 100 years after Lenin's death, his teachings remain alive!

The youth is the future of our dreams and goals. The youth is the future of socialism and comunism.

Let us strengthen the international youth rebellion against imperialist wars, the global environmental catastrophe and the danger of fascism!