Jälkimaterialistinen arvokumous nuorliberaalien periaateohjelmissa

Authors

• Ahti Valkonen väitöskirjatutkija, Turun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37449/ennenjanyt.145746

Keywords:

liberalismi, jälkimaterialismi, postmaterialismi, vihreä liike, nuorisoradikalismi

Abstract

Postwar youth radicalism divides into three research literature-based periods: the 1960’s antiauthoritarianism, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s authoritarian-proletarian turn and the late 1970’s eco-alternative turn. Ronald Inglehart interprets the radicalism as a silent “postmaterialist” revolution, defining “postmaterialism” as emphasis on self-expression and immaterial life quality aspects and traditional “materialist” values as maximising material and physical security. Western postindustrialisation engendered unprecedented support for postmaterialism especially amongst youths grown up under peace and prosperity. Left-libertarian parties and factions theorised by Herbert Kitschelt emerged to cater to new postmaterialist electorates.

This dissertation-based article demonstrates the triphasic postmaterialist revolution using the underresearched Finnish Liberal Youth as an example. The presentation builds upon contextualising archived principle-level programs with the aid of research literature.

The examination yields general support for the triphasic progression. Postmaterialism takes root in the Liberal Youth during the 1960’s, though relatively late in comparison with the leftist forerunners. The Young Liberals and other centrists do however take over the postmaterialist helm in the early 1970’s, being less affected by the authoritarian-proletarian turn. The Young Liberals can be considered the pre-eminent postmaterialists given their opposition to EEC free trade sidelining the materialist capitalist-socialist cleavage and considerable links with the emerging green movement.