A Generational Revange. the Alt-Right As a (wrong) Answer to Adultist Injustice
A Generational Revange. the Alt-Right As a (wrong) Answer to Adultist Injustice
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 00:45
Location: FSE006 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
In recent years, we have observed the rise of radical right-wing political parties and movements around the world, with concrete manifestations in Latin America. One of the most striking characteristics of this phenomenon is the massive support it has received from younger generations, particularly men. Faced with this reality, many supposedly left-wing and democratic discourses express horror and point fingers (as has often happened throughout history) at the youth, accusing them of corrupting social order and moral values.
In this context, the present work aims to study the support of young people for radical right-wing movements as a response to a dual inequality they face as an age group. On one hand, there is economic inequality, as poverty increases among younger generations in the Western world, and many have only seen their families become poorer (since 2008 crisis onward). On the other hand, there is political inequality in adultocentric societies, where young people are not only second-class citizens but have also grown up hearing about the end of history and the end of the world, both caused by others, leaving them powerless to act.
Fighting these ideas becomes more tangible when we identify the alt-right as a poor response because it fails to address the intergenerational political and economic injustice, instead deepening it. However, it leaves open the question of what other political alternatives we can build so that the democratic experience is not restricted by age.
In this context, the present work aims to study the support of young people for radical right-wing movements as a response to a dual inequality they face as an age group. On one hand, there is economic inequality, as poverty increases among younger generations in the Western world, and many have only seen their families become poorer (since 2008 crisis onward). On the other hand, there is political inequality in adultocentric societies, where young people are not only second-class citizens but have also grown up hearing about the end of history and the end of the world, both caused by others, leaving them powerless to act.
Fighting these ideas becomes more tangible when we identify the alt-right as a poor response because it fails to address the intergenerational political and economic injustice, instead deepening it. However, it leaves open the question of what other political alternatives we can build so that the democratic experience is not restricted by age.