Market Values and Youth Political Engagement in the UK: Towards an Agenda for Exploring the Psychological Impacts of Neo-Liberalism

Bradley Allsop, Jacqueline Briggs and Ben Kisby
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Bradley Allsop: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK
Jacqueline Briggs: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK
Ben Kisby: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK

Societies, 2018, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: This article seeks to develop a preliminary analysis of how neo-liberal thought and policies have impacted on youth political engagement in the UK, specifically by attempting to understand how macro-economic and other public policies can influence the individual psychology of citizens and their subsequent behaviour. The article sets out a clear definition and explanation of neo-liberalism and summarises six key neo-liberal impacts particularly pertinent to political engagement: marketisation and the tension this brings with democratic norms; responsibilisation narratives; increased inequality; the changing character of the state through privatisation and deregulation; the preference among policy-makers for ‘expert rule’; and repression of labour. It argues that the main psychological effects that result, and which underpin and define the personal experience of neo-liberal policy, are declines in political efficacy and increases in individualism, the ramifications of which for political engagement are discussed.

Keywords: neo-liberalism; austerity; youth politics; youth engagement; political engagement; political consumerism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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