A Post Anthropocentric Imaginary and Policies for Young People.

We live in the Anthropocene, a geological era marked by the catastrophic impact of humans on the planet. We have already transgressed seven of the nine planetary boundaries needed for a healthy planet. Governments across the globe are failing to exercise a duty of care to children and young people by not urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions thereby putting at risk the planetary systems on which all life, relies. Government policies are also contributing to failing schooling systems, rising education debt, mounting mental health issues, broken child protection and juvenile justice systems, increasing employment precarity and income and housing insecurity. Significant institutional changes are needed if anything like a just and viable future for young people is to be possible.

In this paper we consider how a post-anthropocentric socio-political imaginary might inform new youth policies. Such an approach, we argue would help address current gaps between governments’ claims to promote young people’s well-being and the reality of what many state policies are actually doing. In this paper, we also recognise a shift is underway in how new materialist philosophers and sociologists are understanding the world (Delanda 2011, Latour 2013, Fox and Aldred 2021, Bessant and Watts 2024).

Our aim is to consider the implications of this shift for state policy and young people. In doing so we also use findings from an Australia Research Council funded project exploring student climate action and democratic transformation. Drawing on young people’s actions and insights and post-anthropocentric principles, we ask what would a holistic approach to government policy look like if it were designed to secure opportunities for young people to live flourishing lives. Our analysis is relevant for considering not only how trust in democracy might be rebuilt, but how all life might survive in a time of climate crisis.