“We are heading towards a Peter Pan society in the worst sense.” It is an observation of the political scientist Pablo Simón that synthesizes the difficulties faced by young people in Spain to emancipate themselves and achieve an autonomous life project.
It seems that the so-called “generational pact” -a concept that Simón has coined for years to refer to the social consensus that guarantees the sustainability of the welfare state- is on a tightrope. As can be seen in the video report on these lines, many young people believe that the political class does not care about them or propose measures to improve their economic situation. It’s true?
The thesis of the economist José Ignacio Conde-Ruiz, author of ‘La juventud atracada’, is yes. Given the aging of the population, people under 35 years of age are an increasingly less attractive minority in electoral terms, which discourages political parties from legislating with their needs in mind. Conde-Ruiz gives public spending in Spain as an example: more than half is allocated to items for people over 65 years of age.
Another reflection of this disconnect between youth and politics is their lower participation in elections. Polls indicate that those between the ages of 18 and 30 abstain around 15 to 20 points more than adults, especially compared to retirees. That is, the older, the more likely to vote in the elections. But this is not new. Political scientists call it the ‘life cycle effect’: it is not until a person has finished developing their personality that they begin to understand and take an interest in institutional politics and its effects.
If we look at the young people who do go to the polls, they tend to vote for new parties. In Spain, that translated into Ciudadanos and Podemos at the time, and now, into Vox. In Europe they also lean towards green or far-right parties. Simón points out a pattern: “What these two types of party have in common is that they are in tune with pessimism, with the idea that we are going to disaster, that there is no future.”
So, are we heading towards a generational conflict around which group should allocate more resources? What consequences can the rupture of the generational pact bring?
The video report that heads this article tries to answer this and other questions from experts, politicians and young and old people with different visions.
