ABSTRACT
This chapter argues first trace out the changing relationships between youth, work and capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the late twentieth century, and from the original sites of capitalist development in western Europe and North America to its subsequent expansion to the global South. Throughout the history of capitalism, the problem of recruiting a cheap, willing and disciplined workforce has been a key challenge and concern for employers. The rise of youth consumerism is said to have occurred in the years following the conclusion of the Second World War. In addition to the social construction of youth as workers and consumers, a whole further set of links between youth and capitalism exists. Youth as a symbol and identity has long been used to sell products, ideologies and even capitalism itself as a social and economic system, and to promote the ideal of consumerist-based identities.
