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Burnt by Democracy: Youth, Inequality, and the Erosion of Civic Life
Burnt by Democracy traces the political ascendance of neoliberalism and its effects on youth. The book explores democracy and citizenship as described in interviews with over forty young people – ages 16 to 30 – who have either experienced homelessness or identify as an activist, living in five liberal Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Highlighting significant cuts to social and affordable housing, astronomical increases in the costs of higher education, and the transformation and erosion of state benefits systems, Jacqueline Kennelly argues that democracy’s decline is not occurring because young people are apathetic, or focused on informal politics, or unaware of their civic duties. Rather, it is because of collective misunderstanding about how democracy is actually structured, how individuals learn to participate, and how growing wealth inequality has undermined the capacity of those at the bottom to meaningfully advocate for changes that might improve their conditions.
Against a vivid and often heart-breaking backdrop of stories from young people struggling to survive and thrive under conditions of ever-expanding state retrenchment and inequality, Burnt by Democracy makes a timely and impassioned plea for protecting and strengthening democracy by truly levelling the playing field for all.
Highlighting significant cuts to social and affordable housing, astronomical increases in the costs of higher education, and the transformation and erosion of state benefits systems, Jacqueline Kennelly argues that democracy’s decline is not occurring because young people are apathetic, or focused on informal politics, or unaware of their civic duties. Rather, it is because of collective misunderstanding about how democracy is actually structured, how individuals learn to participate, and how growing wealth inequality has undermined the capacity of those at the bottom to meaningfully advocate for changes that might improve their conditions.
Against a vivid and often heart-breaking backdrop of stories from young people struggling to survive and thrive under conditions of ever-expanding state retrenchment and inequality, Burnt by Democracy makes a timely and impassioned plea for protecting and strengthening democracy by truly levelling the playing field for all.
248 pages, Paperback
Published November 23, 2023
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October 9, 2024
🌟 I need to rate this one 8 stars. I was quite surprised to find that activism amongst the youth is a class-bound thing (that a performance of middle classness is not uncommon), and the author draws examples from the U.S., Canada, NZ, UK, and Australia to support that. In addition, the formal civic education in those countries is quite disappointing, focusing on both "rights and responsibilities" of citizens and avoiding mention of collective action or activism - which was again, new information for me.
Overall, it's a well-written academic book that's not dry at all. Each chapter is concise and is linked with Bourdieu's theory, which formed new learnings for me. I didn't know much about the space of activism but was still surprised to find quite a few points noted by the author echoed my own experience as an international student since the age of 16:
1. One activist coming from a working-class background absorbed the idea forced on the working class that their views are not valued. Participation in activism not only gave her the knowledge and skills but also shifted her sense of entitlement about having her views heard and expressing them loudly to anyone who will listen (Page 149). The author then explained it's an "economy of linguistic exchanges" as noted by Bourdieu, "whereby learning both the language of a specific field, and feeling entitled to use it, is a competence that is acquired in a social context and through practice." The description is like a snapshot of my social life during my university years. I was burdened by socializing with other international students who shared the same cultural background and mostly came from better-off families (and a high percentage of spoiled kids) compared to me, until I found a new world and a new possibility of building a network of relationships that was truly comfortable for me through volunteering in my last year of university. During the journey of self-exploration, I was also criticized by my once-peers that I was too outspoken and cared too much (about social issues) 😂.
2. I really like the section focusing on the definition of citizenship and how a lack of sense of belonging can be a barrier for immigrants, who are non-white and may or may not speak accented English, to nurture the mindset that democratic participation and making claims of the state are alright. Whereas white and middle-class youth activists in the book didn't express such concerns of belonging as a citizen. I had my reflection after reading that part.
The book covers more nuanced analysis, for example, "For the left, the most marginalized are romanticized as the bearers of unadulterated truth about the systems within which they are caught; they only need to be organized and 'given voice' in order to keenly and accurately fight back against the systems that oppress them. If only it were so" (Page 201). This book might be the best sociology book I've read this year. I read elsewhere about the history of the word "citizen" from a Japanese sociologist's work, discussing the topics of anti-war and why allowing women to join the military is not a feminist action in her opinion. While reading the section on citizenship, I thought it would be better if the author could also cover that historical aspect.
🔖 p204 Bourdieu, who acknowledges that, “while making things explicit can certainly help, only a thoroughgoing process of countertraining, involving repeated exercises, can, like an athlete’s training, durably transform habitus” (Bourdieu, 2000, p. 172). A democratic disposition, which is an aspect of habitus, will not be generated through one civics course, although this could certainly be a start. This is, however, only one piece of the larger puzzle about how to create deeply democratic and equitable societies. The larger piece has to do with the ongoing reproduction of inequality by the state. This must stop. The role of the state in a democratic society ought to be levelling the playing field, not making it more steep.
p201 As long as those resisting neoliberalism continue to labour under the liberal misapprehension about who gets to be an activist – that is, without essential insight into the extremely classed, as well as raced and gendered, dynamics of access to such spaces within contemporary liberal democracies – then progressive social movements will continue to exclude those who ought to be included, weakening our strategies and playing into the hands of the elite.
Overall, it's a well-written academic book that's not dry at all. Each chapter is concise and is linked with Bourdieu's theory, which formed new learnings for me. I didn't know much about the space of activism but was still surprised to find quite a few points noted by the author echoed my own experience as an international student since the age of 16:
1. One activist coming from a working-class background absorbed the idea forced on the working class that their views are not valued. Participation in activism not only gave her the knowledge and skills but also shifted her sense of entitlement about having her views heard and expressing them loudly to anyone who will listen (Page 149). The author then explained it's an "economy of linguistic exchanges" as noted by Bourdieu, "whereby learning both the language of a specific field, and feeling entitled to use it, is a competence that is acquired in a social context and through practice." The description is like a snapshot of my social life during my university years. I was burdened by socializing with other international students who shared the same cultural background and mostly came from better-off families (and a high percentage of spoiled kids) compared to me, until I found a new world and a new possibility of building a network of relationships that was truly comfortable for me through volunteering in my last year of university. During the journey of self-exploration, I was also criticized by my once-peers that I was too outspoken and cared too much (about social issues) 😂.
2. I really like the section focusing on the definition of citizenship and how a lack of sense of belonging can be a barrier for immigrants, who are non-white and may or may not speak accented English, to nurture the mindset that democratic participation and making claims of the state are alright. Whereas white and middle-class youth activists in the book didn't express such concerns of belonging as a citizen. I had my reflection after reading that part.
The book covers more nuanced analysis, for example, "For the left, the most marginalized are romanticized as the bearers of unadulterated truth about the systems within which they are caught; they only need to be organized and 'given voice' in order to keenly and accurately fight back against the systems that oppress them. If only it were so" (Page 201). This book might be the best sociology book I've read this year. I read elsewhere about the history of the word "citizen" from a Japanese sociologist's work, discussing the topics of anti-war and why allowing women to join the military is not a feminist action in her opinion. While reading the section on citizenship, I thought it would be better if the author could also cover that historical aspect.
🔖 p204 Bourdieu, who acknowledges that, “while making things explicit can certainly help, only a thoroughgoing process of countertraining, involving repeated exercises, can, like an athlete’s training, durably transform habitus” (Bourdieu, 2000, p. 172). A democratic disposition, which is an aspect of habitus, will not be generated through one civics course, although this could certainly be a start. This is, however, only one piece of the larger puzzle about how to create deeply democratic and equitable societies. The larger piece has to do with the ongoing reproduction of inequality by the state. This must stop. The role of the state in a democratic society ought to be levelling the playing field, not making it more steep.
p201 As long as those resisting neoliberalism continue to labour under the liberal misapprehension about who gets to be an activist – that is, without essential insight into the extremely classed, as well as raced and gendered, dynamics of access to such spaces within contemporary liberal democracies – then progressive social movements will continue to exclude those who ought to be included, weakening our strategies and playing into the hands of the elite.
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