Beware Putting Political Power in the Hands of Children

History shows that children’s mass movements often don’t end well

Red Guard members wave copies of Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” during a parade in Beijing in June 1966. Young people are easily manipulated, and when they act in concert for what they believe are good causes, those causes often end up in disaster and mass violence. Jean Vincent/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

If you go to your dictionary for a definition of the word “obscurity,” you might well find a picture of Andrew Bonar Law. Who? Despite being briefly the prime minister of Great Britain, Law is really known only for two things. He was the only British PM to be born in Canada, and to him is attributed the phrase “I am their leader. I must follow them.”