Despair makes young US men more conservative ahead of US election, poll shows

AMSTERDAM: A large global survey issued on Friday showed a surge in despair and disillusionment with established politics, particularly among young American men, the only US population group to turn more conservative over the past decade.

The study by the international research agency Glocalities, shared with Reuters, offered context for November’s US presidential poll and a plethora of votes worldwide, including a European Union parliamentary election in June.

It surveyed respondents to determine their position on a scale of optimism between ‘hope’ and ‘despair’, and on another between ‘control’ and ‘freedom’ - in other words, conservatism and liberalism.

On average, the world became more liberal between 2014 and 2023, even as it became more pessimistic, according to more than 300,000 surveys in 20 countries representing nearly 60 percent of the global population.

Young people the world over feel especially let down by society, said Martijn Lampert, head of research at Glocalities, adding that “the surge in despair among young adults in the US far outweighs the rise in despair among young adults in EU countries”.