I find it very difficult to care what privileged people from capitalist countries have to say about the problems of capitalism. There is a blueprint to prosperity. It involves free markets, property rights, individual freedom, respect for investors, the rule of law, and an abiding skepticism of radicalism or social upheaval. Countries like Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, etc., have followed that blueprint to prosperity within the lifetime of people who are around today. Countries like Bangladesh, where my family hails from, are seeing massive development by moving (imperfectly) in that direction. People like “Owen Jones” May be well intentioned, but in their nativity are a threat to the potential for a free and prosperous world.

We’re all on a boat. There are reasonable debates to be had about which way we should steer the boat or how fast to go. But the people espousing socialism (not like Macron welfare capitalist, but as contradistinguished from capitalism) are trying to poke holes in the boat.

So what are the underpriveleged saying about it?

The catastrophic effects of most (all?) revolutions that wanted to change that should really be emphasised more during history lessons in school. Without it, people are clueless as to the dangers of trying to change the status quo.

It can be argued that the protesters are actually protesting about the shortcomings of the system that France has - a highly rigid and bureaucratic welfare state with uber-taxation levels, which over long periods of time causes prosperity to dwindle for everyone. Of course, there are some fat cats that are profiting and doing extremely well - but every system, even the best functioning ones, has these people, which suggests that they are actually not the problem.