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Generation Y speaks: it’s all us, us, us

Robert Booth

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2583063,00.html

AS Tony Blair prepares to leave No 10, he leaves behind a society that has become more selfish than when he took power a decade ago.

Research by the Henley Centre, a research consultancy, shows that for the first time in 10 years a majority now believes the quality of life in Britain is best improved by putting the individual first.

The latest generation of graduates — Generation Y — shows the most extreme traits of self-absorption. However, the trend is also being credited with the emergence of a sturdy self-reliance.

Michelle Harrison, director of HeadlightVision, part of the Henley Centre, said: “In 1997, when Tony Blair moved into No 10, almost 70% of our respondents opted for the ‘community-first’ approach.”

“This held steady for the first couple of Blair years but by 1999 individualism was on the rise. At face value, it seems that last year (when individualists outnumbered community-firsts) we formally fell out of love with the Blair project. Over the decade we have seen a fast-moving shift towards people feeling more individualistic.”

Today, 52% feel “looking after ourselves” will best improve the quality of life, according to the poll of more than 2,000 people.

Among poorer people in the social brackets C2, D and E, that rises to 60%. “Poorer people . . . gave up on the Blair project five years ago . . . Less affluent people . . . are focusing on making ends meet and avoiding hassle on the streets in their less ‘desirable’ neighbourhoods,” said Harrison.

Richer people, by contrast, are still more likely to hold on to a belief in community, although Harrison argues that it is a middle-class notion of community, held on their terms. “It is one of cafes and bookshops, busy, interesting people rushing around spending time with people just like them.”

In the City, soaring bonuses have become synonymous in the public mind with new levels of greed as bankers share an estimated bonus pot of £8.8 billion.

Even so, the Rev Peter Mullen, chaplain to the Stock Exchange, defended the behaviour of City workers, saying bonuses were not selfishness but the outcome of market forces. “You do see some crass acts of gluttony and selfishness,” he said. “But most people are well mannered and the idea of being a gentleman is still very strong in the City.

“A lot of young people are joining the livery companies because they like the fellowship and to have a socially responsible cause to which they can devote themselves.”

Harrison also sees signs of hope, noting the self-reliance of low-income families, “looking after your own household, being a responsible parent, and earning enough money to take care for yourself and your loved ones”.

Her formula echoes Margaret Thatcher’s famous declaration, in an interview in 1987: “There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families.”

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, the left-leaning think tank, although voter turnout has declined sharply, other forms of activism have risen, with 50% of adults volunteering for some activity at least once a month in 2005. It also points out that 17% joined a consumer boycott in 2000, up from 6% in 1974.

Although Britain recycled approximately 23% of its waste in 2004-5, up from 10% in the previous five years, it remains one of the lowest rates in Europe. Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, says only 10% of the population take action voluntarily on environmental issues. “The rest won’t: they don’t see the point, they don’t understand it or they don’t care.”

There are signs that generation Y’s selfishness may be so extreme that it is hitting them in their pocket. The Association of Graduate Recruiters complained that many candidates are proving too self-centred to hire, and said that more than half its members would this year fail to fill vacancies.

“It’s all about what they can get away with so they can go out and have a good social life with their friends,” said Linsey Perry, vice-president of the AGR.

“Baby boomers and members of Generation X were like dogs — treat them right and they will be loyal. But members of this latest generation, Generation Y, are more like cats: they just go where the money is. At recruitment fairs candidates used to try to stress what they could offer to a company. Now it’s the other way round.”

February 4, 2007 at 12:18 PM in | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home