Juventud Sin Futuro. Subjective Experiences of Spanish Youth: Resistance and Organization in the Context of Economic Crisis

This paper looks at the subjective experiences of Spanish organized youth who are being affected by the economic crisis. This paper follows a standpoint epistemology. This research focuses on how their practices question the current dominant discourse depicting today’s Spanish youth as a “lost generation”. Theory on generation is used in order to denote the problematic idea of trying to identify today what can only be defined (in the future). Ideas from anarchist politics and autonomous movements are used to explore Spanish youth current ways of organizing and making politics. Post-structuralist theory is used to explore the influence of discourses in constructing reality. The theories used, together with the stories collected through fieldwork invite us to: First, consider other realities and possibilities of future. Specifically the ones that don’t follow the dominant way of being economically developed. Second, move from the event that defines a cohort (economic crisis) in order to focus on the experiences of those who are being affected by it. Finally, look at the ways these youth are resisting and organizing, creating alternatives within the context of economic crisis.