There is a rhetorical turn, common on the internet, where people take up an argument against a certain philosophy, organisation or movement and to aid their argument they characterise said philosophy, organisation or movement as just a bunch of Students Waving Placards. One might say middle-class Students Waving Placards but, in rhetoric at least, students are always middle class. It would be an awful tautology.
One then is able to follow up one’s characterisation of one’s opponents with promises to get down to some serious work, preferably in local communities, wherever they may be. You can add flourishes about bread-and-butter issues and getting down to the grassroots. Don’t overdo it. Grassroots don’t go well with bread-and-butter.
If a philosophy, organisation or movement did consist solely of Students Waving Placards I guess that would be a problem... but let’s not knock students unnecessarily. They are lively, intelligent and they have opposable thumbs, which makes them great at waving placards. Give credit where credit’s due.
It’s ironic that socialists should argue in this way. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are considered, even by their opponents, to be the founders of modern socialism. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were… to begin with… wait for it… students!
They were middle-class students. The HORROR!