Generation Z: A Generation For Change

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Generation Z's resistance to the status quo of politics around the world has been evident through activist events, marches, and walk-outs, as well as social media hashtags and followings. Social media has recently been used as a form of "greater political participation". resulting in a more broad form of democratic groupthink, on both a domestic and global scale. The children, teens, and young adults of Generation Z may have gained a reputation from older generations as being lazy or unmotivated in their developing technological world, though it seems many Gen Zers are using this new information age to their ideological and communal benefits rather than simply for mind-numbing entertainment.

Generation Z has gradually become a generation for change through their resistance to an elite-controlled societal status quo. In an era of polarized political identities, and increasing societal divisions, Generation Z has positioned themselves to resist the societal norms and institutions that have historically marginalized minority and indigenous groups. Whereas previous generations may have had the same goals of liberation for their futures, this generation's plea is simply to save their world from the unsustainable human inhabitance it has seen over the past half-century. Though many generations before them may have been nonetheless revolutionary, this generation believes they are fighting at a tipping point for not only their future, but the future of their descendants' very existence.

A generation for change to elitist dominance

The resistance movement forming within Generation Z is evident within the myriad multinational reform efforts, activist organizations, marches, and protests. These protests range contextually from LGBTQ+ rights and allies, to criminal justice and immigration reforms, gender equality, right to life and anti-gun demonstrations. Whether liberal or conservative, many Gen Zers share the commonality of fighting for a cause they believe in at the individual level, due to lived personal experience affecting their political and social identities. Older generations may see Gen Z's opposition forces as simply a form of juvenile rebellion, rather than generational resistance, as evident through disrespectful slang such as the "OK Boomer" terminology when faced with an instance of generational disdain.

A new generational movement

Though many generations before them sought and even managed to enact revolutionary change, this new generation, immersed in mass global social media and inclusive social culture brings together a new and more global aspect to revolutionary resistance. Like many movements of resistance around the world just prior to and after the turn of the century, using social media to spread awareness allows these social movements to gain traction and recognition on a greater global scale.

Raising social and political awareness in the twentieth century through social media

This new generation is fighting a political identity crisis, manufactured by the generations before them. Fighting to find their place, and their voice in national and international politics, youth political participation and activism has proved a crucial step in providing reform to the activist causes. The generational movement for revolutionary resistance is not guided by a specific political ideology, but rather by a genuine shared concern for what has become of global society. A sort of generational vanguard party of revolutionary change and resistance to benefit the people has emerged, though not to be confused with Vladimir Lenin's Communist Vanguard Party. Further, Karl Marx described that the proletariat, or the working class, can use the state as a tool to end elite statist exploitation of marginalized people through a dictatorship of the proletariat, in which the masses rule, ridding of a class society for the state to slowly wither away.

Unity for revolutionary change to the status quo

Following Marx, Lenin sought to create his own variant of this Marxist ideology. He then insisted that in order to create the revolutionary changes needed to pass through these historical stages, that "some self-selected revolutionary leadership" was needed. This is often referred to as Lenin's Vanguard party, whom would be professional revolutionaries that studied class conflict and led the working class to revolution; in essence a professional revolutionary class to reflect the desires of the working class. This distinction between Marxism and Leninism asserts that Marx believed in social revolution by the people, while Lenin believed in creating a special class to do the revolutionary bidding of the proletariat. Generation Z has seemingly taken on this role of revolutionary rule, by the masses, through political and social activist movements of the people and their peers, against oppressive state and private institutions. Unlike Mao Zedong's variation of Marxism as a hand-picked proletariat, Generation Z is the first and most truly diverse political consciousness that the world has yet to see.

Beginning stages

File:Strike for Climate Justice

Students Striking For Climate Justice, 15 March 2019.

Accelerated by a shared public concern surrounding political discussions, the assertions of equality by an entire generation cannot be ignored by those currently in power, for they will eventually be surpassed by this new generation of activist leaders, whom are ready for change. It is this same generation that will have to deal with the effects of current political, social, and environmental issues for the rest of their own, and their children's lives.

Increasing polarized identities

In a study of the "Think Again" (TA) organization for youth activism alongside an "activist identity that entails expressions of hope, joy, inspiration, excitement, and determination", a notion of "possibility rather than probability" arises. Generation Z has prevailed, despite being told by older generations that they are not good enough. They have progressed through the ability of possibility rather than an elite, neoliberal market-probability. Modern neoliberal policies "infuse a market rationale into all domains of social life". The privatization of formerly public institutions, like the education and prison systems, allows for a narrative of neoliberal profit to prevail, while many Gen Zers are left to cope with the injustices of these elitist market systems. For the last half century, neoliberal democracy has seemingly always "secured the power and privileges of the socially dominant". Generation Z has grown up with this elitist hierarchy ingrained within every aspect of their global society. These neoliberal, "antidemocratic forces… [eliminate] the very idea of the demos" in order to manage democracies like a corporate business within the 'natural market system'. An elitist economization of the society, through neoliberal market practices, fundamentally changes and exploits the very democratic values that some countries, and many Americans claim to hold. This reigning neoliberal ideology inevitably helped to shape the life experiences of Generation Z, for better and for worse.

Creating change

File:Greta

Greta Thunberg Striking for Climate Justice, 20 September 2019

While older generations have taken to the neoliberal commodification and materialization of modern movements of resistance, through merchandise and slogans, those within Generation Z are beginning to shy away from sitting idly by, and are ready to take action against the fundamental injustices they have been witnessing for the majority of their lives. Generation Z's turn away from the neoliberal and capitalist market strategies that served to marginalize and oppress groups for decades, has proven to be a revolutionary resistance to the societal status quo that allowed these ideological institutions to develop in the first place. This "civic imagination" describes the youthful ability to visualize alternatives to current societal norms, a type of progressive resistance to the status quo. When left to their own devices, all Generation Z has, are their shared and lived experiences. Many "young people are both holders of valuable knowledge and experts on their experience", allowing for a more deeply meaningful social movement to develop. By no means has this generational movement yet reached its capacity, as the generation itself is still within its infancy, as even the eldest of the generation have only come of age in recent years.

People's movements

Rancière has emphasized that those considered to be "at the bottom of the social hierarchy can, through their assertion of equality—both in words and in deed—disrupt the police order that excludes and marginalizes them". Generation Z has become increasingly aware that political hierarchies are not the result of a natural phenomenon, but are the product of an elitist narrative of societal history. The generation has created new possibilities, identities, and democratic narratives by "building social movements that challenge oppression" to fight for justice for everyone within the society.

Environmental activism

They have taken to social and political activism as a way to express concern among peers, especially concerning the growing potential of environmental threats. Some may question the motivations of students to become activists as self-serving, though many see activism as a way to enact positive change through membership in environmental and social activist organizations that seek to spread awareness of conservation and protecting the environment. Generation Z has again brought about the difference between saying and doing, to take action by committing to a cause bigger than oneself and change the way people think, or to give a good speech and call it satisfactory. Gen Z's involvement in environmental activism does often stem from self-satisfaction, communal properties, political passion, and personal experience, though this provocative activism serves as a relatable form of civic engagement that a lot of non-voting students and non-students alike can resonate with.

Shared goals

In progressing the narrative that everyone is equal, Generation Z brings a Marxist narrative of declassification back into global politics some decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. Though it is important to clarify the distinction that Generation Z has not collectively or individually claimed any ideological backing, and even consists of cross-party-line activists. Generation Z has sought a way out of developing states of elite domination through "movements that generate… the enunciation of 'we'", through creating "a new idea of the people" to enact change that benefits all within the society, not solely the privileged elites. These communal efforts work to dismantle current societal "structures of domination" through notions of mass movements.

Increased political participation

Generation Z has been shaped into a generation for resistance by factors ranging from familial culture to social media exposure and educational environment. Environmental consequences and increasing climate threats weigh heavily on Generation Z's shoulders, as they begin to enter adulthood. The why, versus why not of participating politically, becomes an important factor when they see the potential of what is at stake.

Environmentalists, local environmental movements, and individual Gen Zers strive to reduce their individual carbon footprints, while simultaneously advocating for clean energy sources like wind and solar, as opposed to the continuation of oil drilling and mining of non-renewable natural resources. Movements to protect the natural environment, from Standing Rock's No Dakota Access Pipeline to a global ban on plastic straws have gained more traction with the help of tech-savvy Generation Z and their passion to spread awareness for social causes through social media. The Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock gained support among many Gen Zers in the United States and Canada through social media hashtags and local activist organizations, creating a public "obligation to hear"

A generation for change

File:March for Our Lives Penn Ave Protest (40286194484).jpg

March For our Lives, 24 March 2018.

Only through personal and shared experiences, passion, compassion, and empathy can a generational movement begin to progress through a grassroots communal effort to raise awareness of potential threats and injustices. Individual contributions to solving social and environmental issues can only go so far, therefore a communal effort through institutional and corporate action is needed in order to sustain the earth for future generations. Further, Generation Z's social media awareness campaigns create "a strong relationship between awareness and community", bringing activists together for a common cause towards a shared environmental or social justice goal.

Gen Zers may not always agree politically, though most tend to share the same common "values[,] that motivate individuals to act selflessly for the sake of others". Generation Z has proven that it is possible to acknowledge potential biases, while simultaneously advancing an understanding of a wide array of political and social motivations, further emphasizing that raising awareness and community involvement go hand in hand. It is important also to keep in mind "how the intensity of political rhetoric since the 2016 [US] election has affected" this new generation of young adult activists. Surveys argue that the current polarized political climate has "led to increased political activism for 52 percent of students", while 27 percent of high school Gen Zers have not expressed significant activist enthusiasm

A generational movement of progress, in progress

"Young people's [political] participation are cultural reproductions that have the potential to not only operate as categories of oppression, but to be used as powerful tools against such forces." Political identities are constantly developing and transforming, through engagement with ideas and practices, as personal experiences that lead to revolutionary political discourse and change. Generation Z has developed a tendency to rethink categories of oppression by moving beyond their previously set boundaries, developing new identities and activist discourses. The ability to knock down pre-existing societal norms proves a useful tool to enact revolutionary resistance movements within a wide array of aspects regarding gender equality, environmental repercussions, mass killings, terroristic threats and more.

Generation Z's efforts of resistance have been both a work in progress and a work of progress, to engage more deeply with politics at the individual level, fighting against injustices for the betterment of those marginalized within the society. Though young people's participation is often historically resisted, denied, or demeaned by those in power, Generation Z's noncompliance with the status quo of political and social discourse has been, and will continue to be an overwhelming force.

References

• Brown, Wendy. (2015). "Undoing the Demos". Zone Books, p. 210.
• Fung, Cadi, and Adams, Ellis. (2017). "What Motivates Student Environmental Activists on College Campuses? An In-Depth Qualitative Study". Social Sciences. vol. 6, no. 134, pp. 1-15.
• Goessling, Kristen. (Fall 2017). "Youth Learning to Be Activists: Constructing 'Places of Possibility' Together". Critical Questions in Education. vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 418–437., https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1159316.
• Gregor, A. (2019). "Classical Marxism and Maoism: A comparative study". Communist and Post-Communist Studies. vol. 52. 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2019.04.001, pp. 81-91.
• Hartung, Catherine. (2017). "Conditional Citizens: Rethinking Children and Young People's Participation". Perspectives on Children and Young People. vol. 5. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-3938-6.
• Lenin, V.I. (1917). "The State and Revolution: The Marxist Theory of the State & the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Revolution". Collected Works. vol. 25, pp. 6-15.
• Nicolescu, Ionut. (2018). "Cases of Equality: Idle No More and the Protests at Standing Rock", Canadian Journal of Urban Research. vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 1-13. Idle No More and the Protests at Standing Rock.
• Rancière, Jacques. "The Rationality of a Hatred". Hatred of Democracy. Chapter 4, pp. 71-97.
• Sutton, H. (2019). "NACAC Finds Increased Political Engagement Among Generation Z Students". Enrollment Management Report. vol. 22. pp. 9. doi:10.1002/emt.30493.

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