Young People as Leaders in (and Sometimes Victims of) Political and Cultural Change

Abstract

Young people are often thought to be bearers of change. Often, however, this image — like the related perception that young people comprise distinct subcultures both within and across societies — is based on aspects of life that have little to do with societal organisation and governance. No one can seri- ously debate the premise that, in most of the world, taste in clothing, music and food of the average 9- or 14-year-old is apt to differ from that of the aver- age 40- or 60-year-old, both within and across cultures. Moreover, the 40- or 60-year-old at age 9 or 14 is apt to have had quite different preferences from that of young people today. However, it is hardly self-evident that preference for pizza, jeans and alternative rock translates into a particular political phi- losophy, or that changes in youthful fashion are valid indicators of trends in civic engagement and political attitudes, whether societally or globally.