We live in a very thankless time. A time without dreams and hopes. A grey era, eroded by unreliability, lies, hypocrisy, doublespeak and nepotism. Examples of today in writing are the fall of values, the collapse of ideologies, the questioning of norms, the abandonment of collective action in favour of individualism, the disappearance of heroes and their substitution by superstars, the pursuit of convenience in oblique ways, the pursuit of ephemeral profit and glory that certainly have nothing to do with greatness.
In the past, political action, ideological struggles were sacred. They gave meaning to people’s lives and wings to hopes for a better tomorrow. Today, politics is in the dock; considered to be the main culprit for the decline of this era. There is a grain of truth to this; but it is not the truth. The problem is complex. Politics and its ministers are products of society. The functioning of the latter is influenced by various factors such as: production relations, the structure of the economy, the dominant ideologies, and the forces that cover them. In other words, politics shapes and is shaped by the functioning of both society and the economy.
For the image presented today by society and, by extension, politics, there are several causes: The information economy, the globalization of the economy, the collapse of real socialism, the softening of ideological contradictions between right and left, the loosening of family ties, the general prosperity, the dominance of the media and the onslaught of advertising. Furthermore, the absence of world warfare, which, as Marx has said, is the midwife of history, has led to the consolidation of an established logic in structures and persons. In this context, what Plato has called the “psychological opposition of generations” emerges, and vividly so. As it is, young people are moving away from public life, distancing themselves from politics, developing their own language of communication, which older ages fail to comprehend. One could say that the generational gap has widened more than ever nowadays. Young people reject the old models, the policy models of yesterday, they reject the simplified logics of black and white, they do not accept simplistic answers, buzzwords, slogans.

They have their own interests, they turn to sports, economic, cultural and ecological concerns, but also to motorbikes, computers, entertainment; with any extreme manifestations that may entail. They are concerned with love, and with loneliness as well. Dreams, when they exist, are colourful, devoid of content and clear goals. According to the conclusions of a recent sociological research by the Lecturer of the University of Crete Mr. A. Astrinakis, there is a tendency of young people today to form groups, with small nuclei that act as substitutes for the family, the school, the neighbourhood. These groups express themselves mainly through musical currents and symbolic criticism of the dominant culture, social relations, politics -but without expressing specific political proposals or providing solutions.

There is, of course, concern for the future and, in particular, for the problem of unemployment, which is linked to crime and drugs. Here, the situation is bleak. Our education system, especially higher education, produces unemployment. Most educational directions do not correspond to the needs and prospects of the labour market. And the State, of yesterday and today, is hugely responsible, as it turns a blind eye to this enormous problem.

Coming back to the topic, distancing from politics is more of a general problem, though it characterizes today’s youth in particular. The abstention in the student elections increases its percentages year by year… and the undisputed winner emerges. I recently asked an intelligent student of mine why he didn’t participate in the student elections. I didn’t vote, he told me, because I don’t think anything is going to change. This student, like many others, is very active and, most importantly, has strong political views, which he does not hesitate to express. Can we talk about young people refusing politics? The extent of the problem is not known, but it would be interesting to have an in-depth study into the issue.

Be that as it may, today “hope is wanted”, as Antonis Samarakis would say. And woe betide us if that were not the case; if young people do not search, even if they do not find. Then the future will look prematurely old. It is known that Aristotle has pointed out that man is a political being, connected to social life and subject to the law of birth, growth and death. This rule cannot be ignored or overturned by young people. What they can and must seek is a renewal of the policy, with profound changes in its content and functioning.

Flattening politics, labelling it as “all politicians are the same”, is an easy denial, that can lead to dangerous situations; if this logic prevails, that is. If all politicians are the same, then those who are still healthy and unscathed by the sirens of decline will either ally themselves with the system, or leave. And then the arena of politics will be free to its worst and most ruthless representatives… The consequences will be disastrous, not only for politics, but for the future of the society that belongs to the youth anyway.

The youth, and especially the most enlightened part of it, the students, cannot leave politics in the hands of its amoral, unscrupulous administrators. Because then the youth will have no future. Nor will they have hope. And if, without hope, visions die, it is certain that without struggle, hope is in danger. It takes effort, which is a difficult thing, as Jung says, but it’s all we have.

Young people must resist and propose. To resist the decline of values, the lack of meritocracy, the lies, the hypocrisy, the mismatch of words and deeds that are decadent phenomena of the society of a previous generation. And if the old is not yet dead, then the young must become the progenitors of the new. The diversification of production relations and the globalization of the economy, with the diffusion of information, may contribute to some positive extent in the same direction. In order for young people to win tomorrow, they need will, knowledge, responsibility, effort- effort to create. The joy of creation is an incentive in itself. Besides, let us not forget that poverty, misery and decadence are preceded by laziness. Young people have no other road ahead of them, except the good, the difficult, the uphill road. At its end, there are the fruits of human integration. This path passes through truth and right, which have greater power than lies and injustice, as Aristotle has said. It is the path of kindness, solidarity, dignity, worthiness, meritocracy, but also personal success and happiness.

All of the above are profound political paths, with the correct aspect of the issue, where politics is rightly a vocation, and not a means of personal imposition and remuneration. Young people must and can resist the fall of values, the death of hope, the decline of politics. This is their primary duty to themselves and to the future of the world. They must propose and implement ways in which this future can be made better.

To anyone who asks whether I am optimistic or pessimistic about the future, when it comes to young people, or about politics, I can only choose optimism. Even if moderately. Optimism, hope, effort, the long journey… it is our only way, it is our Ithaca. To remember the great Alexandrian poet:

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
………………………………………………

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithacas mean.