Millennials are generation least satisfied with democracy in 100 years, says study
Young people are less satisfied with democracy and more disillusioned than at any other time in the past century, especially those in Europe, North America, Africa and Australia, a study by the University of Cambridge found.
Millennials, people born between 1981 and 1996, are more disillusioned than Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, or baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, and the interwar generation of 1918 to 1943.
“Around the world, younger generations are not only more dissatisfied with democratic performance than the old, but are also more discontented than previous generations at similar life stages,” the study found.
Dissatisfaction is highest in the US, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, France, Australia and the UK.
But satisfaction has increased in Germany, South Korea and many of the formerly commu
nist countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
The main reason behind the disillusionment with democracy among young people was inequality of wealth and income, the report said.
It cited figures that show millennials make up about 25 per cent of the US population but hold only 3 per cent of the wealth. Baby boomers held 21 per cent of the wealth at the same age.
“This is the first generation in living memory to have a global majority who are dissatisfied with the way democracy works while in their 20s and 30s,” said Dr Roberto Foa, leading author of the report from Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies.
“By their mid- 30s, 55 per cent of global millennials say they are dissatisfied with democracy, whereas under half of Generation X felt the same way at that age.
“The majority of baby boomers – now in their 60s and 70s – continue to report satisfaction with democracy, as did the interwar generation,” Dr Foa said.
The study suggested that the populist challenge to establishment politics could help to improve democratic engagement by shocking moderate parties and leaders into an effort to reverse the situation.
The Cambridge Centre for the Future of Democracy delved into data from more than 4.8 million respondents from 160 countries between 1973 and 2020.