“We are not here to come up with theories.” The political socialization of young people...

“We are not here to come up with theories.” The political socialization of young people in rural Switzerland

Abstract

Based on an ethnographic survey of members of sociétés de jeunesse campagnarde (SJC) (rural youth groups), this article aims to address the processes of political socialization at work in organizations that do not claim to have any political intentions, and whose activities are designed for their amicable and playful nature. The article shows that, in reaction to the social contempt they face, young members learn to value a culture, which systematically subordinates “theory” to “practice.” This practical conception of the world encourages them to keep politics at arm’s length in order to avoid the imposition of cultural domination, which reasserts the order of things, on their daily social lives.