ABSTRACT
The chapter engages in a critical discussion on youth citizenship, especially from the point of view of young adults’ participation in the labour market. Following a critical and deconstructive approach, the authors argue that the dominant neoliberal model of individualised citizenship is too narrow to guarantee the well-being of young people or help building conditions for sustainable well-being in the future. The authors present an alternative conception of citizenship as lived well-being where young people’s citizenship is approached as membership and activity in their everyday environments and where citizenship, participation and well-being are intrinsically linked. The authors’ discussion is based on studies in which they examined the demands and expectations that young adults struggle with, in relation to their societal participation. Their research makes visible how young people adopt to, but also criticise and seek to, transform the ideal of labour market citizenship as a norm of the good life. They conclude that in order to enhance the sustainable well-being of future generations, closer attention in research and political discourses should be paid to accepting and experimenting with other forms of societal belonging besides young people’s inclusion in the labour market.
