From the onset of democracy there has been a tension between those who see youth as a ‘ring of fire’ of sullen, angry, unemployed young people surrounding the wealthy core of the GCR, and those who see them as a well-educated, confident resource that the economy will rely on to grow and develop. Despite high levels of employment and participation in protests, the former view is not borne out by any data.
Young people do not agree that ‘politics is a waste of time’ – or not in any different proportion from any other age cohort.
In responses to questions about civil participation, politics, the state of the nation and more, young and old are no different.
Young people may have been ‘born free’ – but they value their freedom as much as those who had to win it.
