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12 Unity SUNDAY 24 MARCH 2024 Youth culture Dr Albert Bell Department of Youth and Community Studies IN his milestone paper So- cial Structure and Anomie, sociologist Robert K. Merton (1938) identified a number of reactions or adaptations to the discrepancy or strain between the success goals emblematic of middle-class American culture and the structured means or oppor- tunities provided to achieve them. This discrepancy yields a social reality where many of those whose life chances are thwarted because of power differentials in society react to the embedded inequalities in society. Mertonian sociologists such as Albert K. Cohen (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin (1960) talked about delinquent youth gangs as collective solutions to the status frustration that working-class boys experi- ence through inaccessibility to middle-class success goals. Within the gang, made up of young people who share sim- ilar fates, conventional val- ues and rules are overturned through a process of reaction formation. Subcultural sta- tus and capital is gained by the extent that subterrane- an and delinquent values are expressed and embodied by gang members. However, interestingly, for Merton delinquent responses to social strain do not essen- tially register rupture with convention. Delinquents re- main gridlocked in the race to achieve the American dream. Their deviation is not from established middle-class suc- cess goals. It is primarily from the legitimate opportunity structures that normative society provides to achieve them. This deviation takes the form of innovation, where while success goals such as financial wealth are still pur- sued, illegitimate means are adopted to reach them. A host of utilitarian crimes are examples to this effect, from theft to prostitution, drug and human trafficking and so forth. Moreover, for Merton, such is the allure of the American dream that most people (even the underprivileged) still at- tempt to play the game so to speak, conforming to the status quo and following the rubric of convention devot- edly. Canadian youth culture theorist Micheal Brake (2013) identifies 'respectable youth' painstakingly engrossed in building their prospects of educational achievement and heavily investing in budding professional careers as an em- blematic in this regard. Conformity and innovation are, however, only two of the myriad forms of adaptation to strain. Other adolescents and adults retreat and drop out of society completely, re- futing conventional goals and participation in the accom- panying normative opportu- nity structures. The deviance here is inward directed and non-utilitarian. Drug abuse, alcoholism, suicide and su- icide ideation are evident examples of this. Ritualism, another reaction to social strain, presents us with a dif- ferent scenario. Ritualists re- tain their immersion in the opportunity structure pro- vided to achieve conventional goals. However, they simply do so out habit and routine rather than conviction. Suc- cess goals (such as career ad- vancement) are refuted, but the route to them (gainful oc- cupation, for example) is still dutifully pursued. This brings us the final and perhaps most important ad- aptation to social strain, par- ticularly in terms of its ram- ifications for social change. Rebellion. Here, both the es- tablished goals and the legit- imate opportunity structures to achieve them are refuted, and replaced by new ones reflecting and advancing a different world view and vi- sion. Brake (2013) asserts that young people active at the margins of the creative, artistic and political worlds epitomise cultural rebellion. The dissent such creatives register is key for social trans- formation and innovation. Consider for example the indelible and lasting global impact of 1960s counter-cul- ture. Counter hegemonic, the Age of Aquarius rocked the status quo. Conservative ideas were challenged by a radically different world view that espoused inter alia mi- nority and women's rights and egalitarianism, peace and nuclear disarmament, sexual freedom, a post-hu- man ecological outlook, and a world view espousing com- munalism, co-operation and democratisation. One can argue that eventually many vociferous voices from that time were emasculated and even co-opted by the system – such is the latter's power to adapt and realign itself. However, the Flower Power movement's impact across the globe on championing and mainstreaming ideas that were destined to remain at the margins cannot be dis- puted. Post-independence Malta also opened up to the winds of an unparalleled sea change that saw power gradually yet decisively shift away from the conservative establishment. Young, radical creatives played a crucial role in the process. The first co-ed teen organisations of the 1960s and the radical writers and poets in the Moviment Qaw- mien Letterarju may be both considered as strong cases Youth rebellion, dissent and social change A national critical mindset and effective political and media literacy are essential for meaningful dissent to foster. Our education system is pivotal to this effect Dissent is the anti- thesis of indifference and passivity. It is crucial for debate, effective dialogue and social innovation. It must be spurred, fostered and encouraged