Hope as a form of agency in the future thinking of disenfranchised young people

TLDR

The study examines future thinking among disenfranchised young Australians and argues that sociological research should focus on hope as a form of agency that shapes their future practices and trajectories. The authors draw on literature about individualisation and choice biographies and propose using relational theories of practice to conceptualise hope as agency in interpreting participants’ narratives. Participants who could narrate a future desired traditional markers such as a job, home, and family, but their aspirations were constrained by limited opportunities; many could not envision beyond their present circumstances, yet they still expressed hope for greater security and happiness.

Abstract

This paper examines future thinking in a group of disenfranchised young Australians. We draw on literature about individualisation and choice biographies to understand participants' narratives. Participants that managed to narrate a future expressed strong desires to be 'normal', articulating futures marked by traditional indicators: a job, home and family. Yet, their narratives of future were specific to the minimal opportunity structures available to them – a prioritising of paid employment with little concern about the type of work done, a home that was secure but not owned and, often, a wish to regain custody of children. Significantly, many participants could not articulate a future beyond their present circumstances. The uncertainties of their lives shaped their future thinking, through their lack of capital but also through deficit views of themselves as possessing few choices. But, while there was no 'choice-making', there was agency: they hoped for something better such as to live securely and to be happier. We suggest that sociological thought pursue a closer understanding of how hope operates in young lives and how it shapes future practice and trajectories. We propose that one way forward is to consider hope as a form of agency conceptualised through relational theories of practice.