Headline, January14, 2014

''' O' THE YOUNG AND THE WORTHY '''

Why the shift? History is one explanation. Today's young people grew up in a period of relatively low unemployment, after the removal of the contributory elements of the welfare system and long after the collective afterglow of the second world war had faded.

But their attitudes also reflected the hardships they face today. The economic slowdown and government cuts have hit them harder than most. In 2013, the coalition has trimmed the support paid to those who stay in school between the ages of 16 and 18.

And raised university tuition fees and axed a temporary employment scheme for those aged 18 to 24. Although overall joblessness is lower than in most countries, youth unemployment has increased by half since 2008:

An advertisement of eight vacancies at a Nottingham coffee shop recently drew 1,700 applications.

Just as the construction of the post-war welfare state helps to explain the collective instincts of the old, today's economic adversity and dwindling welfare payments appear to be forging a generation of dogged individualists.

Rosina St James, a 22 year old student who chairs the British Youth Council, a Network of 230 organisations, describes a sense that  ''you're running against the person next to you''. ''People in our generation are incredibly competitive with each other,'' she says.

Young Britons broad liberalism, their suspicion of state interventions of most varieties, not only contrasts with the views of their elders. It also makes them unusual internationally. 

Britons between 15 and 35 are more relaxed about the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis than are young people in the EU as a whole.

Another Eurobarometer study conducted in 2011 showed that Britons in that age group were more likely to have set up their own business than their counterparts in any other large European country.

In the Unite States (where, admittedly the state is smaller) polling in 2012 by the Pew Research Center shows that 59% of Americans aged 18 to 29 thought  ''government should do much more''  to solve problems.

That was higher than for any other age group. The firm's polls also show that members of the youngest age group, though liberal on gay marriage, are also likely to say that abortion should be legal than any group apart from the over-65s.

Young Britons belief probably owe much to the country's education system. Britain has high levels of university attendance, a factor that correlates with social liberalism, says James Tilley, an academic specialising in public opinion.

!!! It is a materialistic society with a flexible labour market; its citizens chart their lives on social media with more zeal than most   -all things that tend to contribute to a competitive, individualistic mindset !!!.

Freedom Forum, an annual convention for young libertarians, has tripled in size since its launch in 2011; a similar venture ''Freedom Week'' runs debates and lectures  -had over ten applicants for each and every place.

Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think-tank declares himself  ''gobsmacked''  at the new popularity of anti-statist ideas and confidently predicts the emergence of a mass libertarian movement.

That is premature. Most young Britons show little interest in   -''isms''  of any sort. But Mr Littlewood is right to treat this trend among the politically active as the visible tip of the iceberg of passive libertarian sentiment among the disengaged.  

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of Australia and New Zealand. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society computers-IInternet-Wireless:

''' Ain't Seen Nothing Yet  '''

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless