Sollte diese Umfrage ‘down under’ auch nur annähernd repräsentativ für die politischen Prioritäten junger Leute in westlichen Ländern sein, so darf man getrost hoffnungsvoll auf die Zukunft blicken.

Researchers from the University of Western Sydney asked 2500 15- to 25-year-olds what they cared about most in life and what it meant to be Australian as part of an continuing study into Australian identity.

The trappings of 21st-century life were far less important to young people than simply being able to walk down the street without fear, the survey found. Safety topped the list, followed by mateship, education and democracy.

“This is a generation who, with the click of a mouse, can see the conflicts going on around the world and I think that has produced an appreciation of living in a safe society,” said the head researcher, Genevieve Nelson.

“These findings certainly appear to contradict the stereotypical view. The participants had a whole range of things to choose from - prosperity, loving the beach. But they just didn’t rank as highly as safety, democracy, freedom of speech, and a just political system.” [...]

Surprisingly, the survey contradicted the view that young people are more concerned about global warming and climate change than their parents are.

Coming in just below academic factors, the environmental category was given a very low importance rating by the young participants.