Unemployment in Europe

Major problem is the increase in mass unemployment in Europe. The younger generation in particular seems to be affected by this negative trend, resulting in increased illegal immigration, rising xenophobia and a growing risk of social turmoil and political instability. These factors are estimated to be two or three times higher than in most other parts of the world, says the study. And even if people have jobs they very often only just reach the standard of the working poor - leaving gloomy perspectives for tens of millions of people

I'm not that pessimistic. Yes, things may get worse before they get better, but not to the point of great social upheaval. The rich aren't so because they are stupid and have no vision. They can forestall a major threat to their wealth and placate the masses when the point of self defense gets too expensive.
I would agree class warfare is becoming more and more physical, with notable riots in Greece last year, and Paris the year before. But the lack of any sustained increase in violence shows me that the powers that be can better 'read' the level of outrage and deter it offering up social programs ala Obamacare and extended unemployment benefits. The big issue now is minimum wage, and in a couple of years it will be real infrastructure jobs.
It's not lost on those who have the most to lose that Americans are increasingly buying guns and stocking up on munitions. I know I am because, well, I may be wrong.

I don't see how different this is from other time of technological "upheaval".

The invention of stone tools.
The bronze age
The rise of agriculture
The Industrial revolution.
and now the internet age.

Technological innovations always displace workers, but humans always adjust. As each great leap forward has in the past, t will mean humans will have to work less to have a better standard of living... and there will be more time for artistic, intellectual and cultural pursuits.

I guess you can put me in the optimist column.

From nuclear warheads to banks too big to fail - we stand atop dozens of powder kegs - but we're Americans and, if only by the grace of God, we are special.
Yes, the French revolution is a classic example of how class warfare can collapse a civilization; but other than the concentration of wealth to the top 2%, all other similarities are pale. The French were literally starving - our govt gets hell for feeding our poor!
No, we're a very long way off from general rioting in the streets, all but 7% have a job to go to, and half of them had a job and are going to again. If Europe were one country as ours, and their countries were as our states, would they still have pockets of abject misery - or would their govt, as ours, redistribute the wealth?
We're America, we're some kind of different.