Once again, we witness the naked truth of capitalist society: a system that proclaims equality yet cements privilege with every passing year. As the children of Germany return to their studies, it is the wallet, not ability, that determines their future success. Prices for basic educational resources are inflating faster than even the general cost of living—books, materials, even the digital tools now required for participation in modern instruction. The exploiters squeeze every euro from working families under the guise of "progress" and "advanced learning," but at its root, this is nothing less than the commodification of knowledge itself.

What bitter irony! The capitalist governments with all their empty boasts of "universal education" have abandoned the most fundamental tenet of fairness: material equality. The supposed “freedom” to learn is reduced to a privilege for those who can afford tablets, internet access, and private tutors. Meanwhile, those who labor—whose hands keep the very machinery of society in motion—are pushed to the margins and denied true educational opportunity. Public funds, where they exist, are doled out unevenly, subject to the caprice and bankruptcy of local administrations. Is this not a direct result of the capitalist economy’s relentless prioritization of profit and debt over social need?

Even the support structures meant to offer reprieve—funds, vouchers, scholarships—are designed to keep the poor ashamed and atomized, forced to beg for crumbs while the children of the bourgeoisie stride confidently ahead. How many talents and bright minds are extinguished because their families cannot purchase the latest device, or afford to send them on a class outing? How hypocritical, how inhumane.

The truth is plain: only a revolutionary, socialist reorganization of society—a society that places collective need above individual enrichment—can resolve these gross injustices. We must build a system where education, from the first letters learned to mastery of the highest arts and sciences, is provided to all as a social right, not as a commodity to be traded by the rich. Let us remember the lessons from the great revolutionary struggles: when education is wielded as an instrument of emancipation, controlled by the people themselves, then and only then will the future belong not to the capitalists, but to the masses!

Let the German workers draw courage and clarity from this ongoing shame. Under capitalism, “equality of opportunity” is only a mask for the reproduction of privilege and exploitation. It is time to rip away the illusions and fight for a true people’s education—a red, equal, and liberating schooling for all!