Beneath veneer of glittering affluence lies deep wound

Nine per cent of young Britons, 750,000 in total, have nothing to live for. These are young people aged between 16 and 25 who are unemployed. The frustration is deeper among those unemployed for six months or more. The findings from a YouGov poll for the Prince's Trust Macquarie Youth Index indicate that 40 per cent of such jobless young people have had bouts of 'mental illness such as suicidal thoughts, or feeling of self-loathing and panic attacks'. At issue here is an age bracket when youths should feel on top of the world. Instead, such a large number of young men and women in one of the highly advanced country are now considering their existence on the earth meaningless. Why?
The answer to the question lies in the fact that the social and economic systems followed in most part of the globe are unforgiving and hostile to any self indulgence or relaxation. One has to be adept in the rat race now sweeping most societies. Societies are rather exclusive rather than inclusive. Disparities are at the heart of the theory of the free market economy. The sharks are at the top of the order to devour all others below their ranks. The week and the unfit have no place there.
What is however intriguing is that the inclusion of 16 or 17 year-olds in the list of the jobless. Aren't they considered teenagers? They are not supposed to work but to study and be dependent on their families. The problem is that families in Britain are a precious thing. Many are growing up under the care of a single parent. EM Forster predicted long ago to the effect that Britain will be inherited by her bastards. Out of three Britons, one would be a bastard. Whether that has already been the case is not yet clear but symptoms are not far from it.
Even in Bangladesh with wretched poverty enough to dehumanise people, youths do not feel despondency at a level where they want to bring a premature end to their lives. Or else, how could the people in Bangladesh find themselves at the top notch of the Happiness Index? It is no mystery that people are happy with just a little of everything. But never mistake that the same feeling is at work among all segments of people. Privileged and educated people are not easily satisfied. This explains why corruption is an almost exclusive preserve of the upper classes of society and drug addiction is so prevalent among youths. With the aggressive intrusion of consumerism, avarice has already contaminated other sections of society. It was no surprise that youths who went broke on account of the share market crash had suffered the shock of their lives. A few such men had no option but to commit suicide.
There are educated unemployed youths in Bangladesh but they go on trying. Mental break-downs are experienced but only rarely. What is the reason behind this? Bangladeshi people are known to struggle for survival against many odds including natural calamities. So, resilience is a proud inheritance they receive from their ancestors. In consumer societies, where life is lavish and comfortable for about two centuries, the spirit to successfully encounter adversity is lacking in people. More importantly, when caring societies suddenly start treating the unproductive sections as castaways, the feeling of inclusiveness takes leave of people and society. People feel rejected. The will to live is no longer there. The contrast between the shining and successful life and extreme poverty produce a nauseating sense. Either one has to be a rebel or recoil like a live wire left abandoned on the wayside.
Rich and affluent societies in the West could have been more heartless but for a man named Carl Marx who promoted the theory of the reign of the proletariat. His theory and its practical application in some Eastern European countries left a humanising impact on what is now called democratic system. But now that socialism has collapsed, the influencing factor is not there. Western societies may no be the same as before.