‘Desperate for change’ – but is UK gen Z really disillusioned with democracy?

David Batty - TheGuardian - 06/02
Recent research claims young people are attracted to authoritarianism, populist politics and ‘strong man’ leaders

They have been dismissed as idealistic and over-sensitive snowflakes, obsessed with healthy living and social media. But generation Z – those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2000s – has recently been accused of something far more sinister.

A Mail on Sunday poll of 18- to 27-year-olds found 67% were in favour of chemically castrating sex offenders and 45% supported the death penalty. A study for Channel 4 found 52% of gen Zers thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections”.

The Channel 4 report, Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust, also found 33% of those aged 13-27 agreed that the UK would be better off “if the army was in charge”, and 47% agreed that “the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution”.

Here’s a shocking finding, gen Z: democracy isn’t perfect | David Mitchell
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