Anthem for Doomed Youth? How Gen Z Can Survive the Culture War

Mr Pitt points out that the true rebels in Gen Z are not the 'radicals', but the conservatives and reactionaries who refuse to take a knee to the woke narrative.

From The European Conservative

By Harrison Pitt

At least among the young, far more rebellious in today’s climate are those of us who, mixing love of country with an independence of mind, refuse to force everything in our culture through the unforgiving woodchipper of identity politics.

There are few things more ancient than the youthful appetite for rebellion. This basic urge can manifest itself in all sorts of different ways. Throughout history, the causes taken up by callow, enthusiastic youngsters have been everything from noble and just to self-indulgent and even murderous.

But who are the real rebels in today’s political youth culture? Left-wing activists are bound to stake an impassioned claim to the mantle, but in fact they are the most dogmatic, finger-wagging, culturally dominant elect of petty totalitarians in recent history. They are also deeply conformist. While these ‘wokesters’ certainly regard themselves as lovers of transgression, their political allies include characters and institutions as impeccably orthodox as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the civil service, and the BBC. At least among the young, far more rebellious in today’s climate are those of us who, mixing love of country with an independence of mind, refuse to force everything in our culture through the unforgiving woodchipper of identity politics.

But given how relentlessly the next generation has been soaked in left-wing ideology, what future can conservatism hope to enjoy? Can developing minds survive the culture war with their critical faculties intact? My latest film for the New Culture Forum, “Young and Unwoke: The Real Rebels,” examined the bleak landscape of youth politics across the Western world, particularly in Britain, while also looking forward to the possibility of sunlit uplands in the decades ahead. The civilizational stakes of this question can no longer be ignored.

Research by Professor Eric Kaufmann reveals that, on more or less every contentious question, from defending their country’s heritage to prioritizing free speech over the shrill demands of political correctness, young Brits are split right down the middle. As everyone must have noticed, this makes them considerably more ‘woke’ than the rest of the population, which is broadly impatient with the Left’s cultural onslaught. This 50/50 divide does also indicate, however, that young people—far from being a lost cause—are at the heart of today’s culture war. They may be more evenly polarized than everyone else, but they are yet to be fully captured—an extraordinary fact, considering the endless ways in which they are indoctrinated in their schools, online, within places of work, and all the rest of it. The encouraging news is that there’s still all to play for. But time is running out.

Much of our education system serves in part to propagate, but mostly to reinforce, a politically far-Left youth culture that already exists and spreads mainly through social media. Nevertheless, teaching radical left-wing theories—systemic racism, patriarchy, the newly discovered existence of multiple genders, etc.,—as unquestionable articles of faith in a new state religion fosters an atmosphere in which many feel intimidated to speak their minds. Without large-scale action, the problem will get worse, until eventually we find ourselves with an entire generation of people who, having been too frightened to think independently while growing up, lack experience engaging their intellectual muscles in debate. This is fatal stuff for an advanced democracy which can only function on free discussion.

What must be done? The record of Hungary, increasingly held up as a model for emulation by conservatives all around the world, is instructive.

How have the Magyars shielded themselves from the West’s obsession with divisive identity politics? To foster a culture where, especially among young people, patriotism, critical thinking, and a commitment to improving the nation’s reputation in the world can thrive? 

Apart from anything else, the governing Fidesz party has been willing to employ the commanding heights of political power. This means that the task of defending national tradition is not left purely to the invisible hand of the market or the initiative of strong-minded individuals. Unlike the British Conservative Party, Fidesz appreciates the need for institutional action. Any country ashamed of its own roots will not survive long in a hostile world. The wildfire of ‘woke’ fury is not just an indulgent spectacle that can be blissfully ignored; it destroys the sense of gratitude and self-worth that holds countries intact across time and gives the young especially a sense of belonging. When these feelings no longer grip the hearts and minds of those growing up within a national culture, the game is up.

For this reason, the Hungarian government has donated €1.2 billion to the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), an educational institute based in Budapest. It offers young Hungarians the opportunity to feel rooted in their history, to play gracefully with ideas in an environment which champions free debate, and to prepare themselves for their role as heirs to Western civilization. There are student fellowships, networking events, and outreach programs to support youth from all over the country. It is not an indoctrination factory; there are student from both Left and Right. What they all share is a commitment to the kind of old-school liberal values that we used to hold dear in the West.

Britain should take a leaf out of the Hungarian playbook. Our government should be sponsoring homegrown institutions which, following the example set by the MCC, seek to give the next generation a spiritual stake in the future of their own society. It is no use complaining about the virus of ‘wokery’ among the kids if those in charge do nothing to transmit positive values to young people with the talent to contribute to their country’s flourishing. It is not enough to hope that strong characters will emerge; they need to be formed. This job should fall primarily to families and communities, but the virtues which enable countries to thrive must also be reinforced by elected governments, whether that means creating new institutions or reforming old ones.

“Societies,” wrote Plato, “aren’t made of sticks and stones, but of men whose individual characters, by turning the scale one way or another, determine the direction of the whole.” Aristotle made a similar point when he described man as an essentially political animal. By this, he did not mean to say that we are all glued to the latest opinion poll or get ecstatic during by-elections. He meant that as individuals, we are deeply affected by the spiritual atmosphere of the city—or polis, to use the Greek—in which we live, as indeed the city is affected by us. 

The same is true of countries. Those of us with a commitment to preserving the religious traditions and secular achievements of our civilization need to feel that our efforts are reinforced by the culture around us. This basic loyalty should be reflected by our public institutions, for these are the things that mediate between lone individuals and the larger national life to which they belong. For the most part, young Hungarians are able to express this loyalty and to think freely without running the risk of ostracization or losing their livelihood. Elected governments elsewhere must do everything to ensure that free thought and love of country are the norm, rather than the exception, among the young.

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord,” wrote St. Augustine, “and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” The West’s post-Christian history has proved Augustine right. Feeling the loss of religion and forced to inhabit a disenchanted world, our hearts have not taken a back seat to the superior powers of reason. They have remained restless, seeking purpose and satisfaction in the grand narratives of secular utopians and dreamers. Modern liberal society provides us with full bellies, but it makes no claim on the human spirit. Is it any wonder so many of the young feel afflicted by anomie? And that assertive ideologies, full of passionate intensity, are rushing to fill the void?

But this untapped spiritual energy should be harnessed not for destructive or resentful purposes, as far-Left utopians would demand. Our emphasis should be on preservation, on building, on renewal.

Most of what we value is not naturally occurring and therefore cannot be taken for granted: Judeo-Christian morality, which tells us to choose charity and forgiveness over narcissism and vengeance; the rule of law, increasingly threatened by fanatics who trash the tradition of blind justice to fixate on racial, gender, or sexual divisions; the classics of Western thought, art, and literature that have added so much to our self-understanding, but which now suffer relentless deconstruction at the hands of mediocrities.

Any or all of these could perish in an instant. If they cease to make a claim on our affection—and especially if they no longer inspire today’s young people, their future custodians—such treasures will become relics of a once-great civilization.