Whose interests does democracy miss?
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Thomas talks about how democracy can fail to reflect the needs and concerns of young people. In this video, he explains why he believes some issues that matter most to younger generations are not always taken seriously in political decision-making.
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You’ve heard what Thomas thinks, now vote. Which issue do you think shows young people’s interests are being overlooked?
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Tell us what you think
You might want to structure your answer like this:
I chose [your poll option] because [your reason, using something Thomas said in the video]. This issue affects young people because [explain how]. However, others might feel that [a different issue or perspective] is more important.
Make sure you read the comments from other Topical Talkers and respond to someone whose choice or opinion is different from yours.
Comments (16)
I chose climate change, housing affordability/ home ownership, jobs and wages and education and student debt because as Thomas mentioned young people starting from 16 can think as good as older people and even better as scientists have proved that the younger you are the more creative.
These issues affect young people because these things are what young people live around and I will explain them one by one.
1- Climate change. People have been sharing the climate change issue online and mostly everything about it is on the internet. As we all know young people spend most of their time on the internet, so they know about it more than most adults which means they have to have a say, act and important role.
2-House affordability/home ownership. Most young people never had the ability in most countries to own a house because the law didn't give them a national ID which doesn't seem fair.
3-Jobs and wages. Young people should be able to have jobs, and they could change the world with them and the biggest evidence is Mark Zukerberg who made Facebook on a really young age, and he changed the whole world with it, literally there is no smart phone without Facebook.
4-Education and student dept. It is the young people who learn so they know better than adults so we must listen to them because our generation is different than the others and that way of memorizing and heavy books feel like stone age to us. Some schools here in Egypt are using the understanding not memorizing and tablets and with the first look you notice they are smarter than other students.
I agree with you for almost everything because there are definitely more than just one issue that affect young people. Like Thomas said in the video young people, 16-years-old teenagers can think and choose as good option as an older ones, maybe even better one. Todays generations are really developed and get more information than 5 or 10 years ago. To be true, all of us use our phones everyday and we learn, read and hear something new everyday throught it.
Also, I definitely agree with your first place issue and I think it is the biggest one. Like elderly people say: ''The world is in your hands.'', than why can't younger people participate in some of the possible solutions throught democracy and politics? Everyday it seems like something will be fixed, but it isn't.
Climate change lasts too long and most of the time politicians are ''solving'' problems that are short-term. Today, older people won't feel the consequences because of not solving this big problem, but we and even younger generations will.
Older people are more worried about inflations, lowering the pensions, value of their homes etc. I don't say that that isn't a big problem, but do they ever thing what will happend with the world in the future because of climate problems?
I think that young people need to be heard and involved in solving big problems like this one!
These are interesting points. I notice you said that in point 4. that you notice they are smarter than other students. Do you have evidence that they are smarter?
I chose climate change because , as Thomas says, political system often focus on short term gains rather than long term consequences. climate policies are delayed even though young people will live with the worst effects.
This issues affects young people because it shapes their future living conditions, jobs and health. However I understand why another topical talker thinks education or housing is more important, since this issues affects young people right now. Even so, I think climate change stands out because it will influence all other issues in the long term.
i chose jobs and wages .Because yes people do not think that young people are able to make cold decisions especially during the time of elections which is a very cold decision for everyone, though most values which bend towards the younger individuals are overlooked and sometimes not even taken seriously because they believe that the younger ones are not mature enough to actually understand what the problem is.jobs and wages are heavily determined by age groups which should not be so why can't it be determined by skill level instead and personal experience with evidence knowing fully well their capability and what they can accomplish or pull of. however some people would disagree saying that younger people are unable to understand intensity of the situation and most times take serious thinks as a joke but I do not stand by this at all.
I think climate change shows that young people's interests are not taken into consideration in democracy. climate change is the very most topic that will affect our future for the rest of our lives and adults making decisions today will not face the worst effects. we are exposed to many information through the internet and we often want stronger and faster actions but our opinions are not always taken seriously.
I agree because we are the future of the world and this problem is currently caused by the present day actions which display our lack of representation in democracy this is because the methods we are expected to take are quite a bit expensive and can only be afforded by adults just to mentions items like solar panels, cleaner energy sources, smart home devices among others.
I actually chose jobs and wages, and climate change because of this simple example. As of the present day, young people are trying to be innovative and find jobs for themselves to get income and develop independence which confirms Thomas' statement on young people reasoning like adults from age 16, but to me they are not treated fairly in the wages aspect. Nowadays, in what I have seen from my country, the new individuals usually are the ones who do most of the heavy duty work in organisations and still get paid the lowest which is very unfair because at the beginning of a career or a part time job, you have the highest work rate in the company and still the most underrated. With all these problems, we still have climate change issues and high cost to the equipment and machines, they also have the problem of not being heard in the company as they are still new and lack experience on a system which is literally being built on them.
However, others may argue that they actually don't have experience, but let us give it a shot and try allowing the younger ones bring their ideas to the table on these issues.
THANK YOU
I disagree because i think that climate change is not the most topic that will affect our future but the future generation because they cannot vote ,organize and punish bad decision yet they'll live with the consequences of todays choice. Example in Ebonyi state , we have different roads, fly overs , houses that all in the name of they want Ebonyi to have more fly overs .this future generation we are talking about cannot vote for leaders who ignore erosion control, who protest long term environmental neglect and influence budget priorities and then they would inherit degraded farmland ,polluted water sources and higher disaster risk
in essence is democracy in Ebonyi tend to serve today's voters, not tommorow's citizen
Hi, I'm Valentina, a senior legal counsel at UBS. My daily duties involve drafting & negotiating commercial contracts as well advising business stakeholders in the areas of investment management & regulatory change. A question as a follow up to the above statements. Do you see any solutions to the problem? What would you suggest?
hello dear topical talkers I chose housing affordability and home ownership because a home is a basic need but it has become too expensive for young people this issue affects young people because in democracy housing policies often reflect the voices of homeowners instead of the struggles of young renters and first time buyers and because of this young people's need for affordable housing is not being adequately being represented however others might feel that climate change is more important but I think this is important because a home is a basic need like food and we should focus on this necessity first.
signing off: Fair minded elephant
I chose housing, jobs & wages, and education and student debt. Why I chose these three topics is because while the government may not be focusing on climate change as much as they should, it's still a big part of the news since everybody, rich, poor, homeless, etc. gets affected by climate change. There's also the fact that specifically for housing, there are several giant megacompanies such as Blackrock who continue to buy houses then inflate prices since they own most of the supply. Blackrock also owns large percentages of nearly every single recognizable company in the world. This is when capitalist fail because capitalism is built off of the idea that if there is a free market, companies will try to one-up each other and ultimately, the consumer gets benefited. When each of the giant companies all own each other or all make bad anti-consumer decisions then capitalism doesn't work since the consumer doesn't benefit and the companies rake in more money and influence. With this money, companies help fund political campaigns with candidates which will pass laws which benefit them. This results in prices of everything going up as well as jobs being hard to come by. This ties into student debt since if you study four years at college then can't find a job and have to work at a fast food chain or grocery store, then that is a problem. At least, climate change gets an entire event every single year and there are tons of activists. You don't see nearly as many activists for this kind of problem. People talk about it a lot; even more than climate change yet nothing happens.
I chose education, student debt, and climate change because these topics require intense care and time to adequately solve their problems. In Thomas's video, he mentions that young people can make 'cold' decisions at an adult level when given time to research and form an opinion. These issues affect young people because of exposure to long-term risks, which not only jeopardize their health but also their ability to pay multiple expenses. If a system in which the youth suffer before their 'adult' lives officially start, the government should work alongside them to ensure their lives are managed well. However, others might feel that these issues may also stem from access to healthcare and jobs, which are mostly government-regulated. I agree that those issues are the root of many other affordability crises; however, their severity in terms of long-term, irreversible damage has low stakes, especially when evaluating how governments today handle them.
You make a good case that young people should be given a say in decisions on these type of issues where they have a direct stake in future outcomes.
I chose climate change because decision-making is now "dominated" by older generations and business leaders, while youth voices are considered "noise". Young people are living through heat waves, rising sea levels, and very high temperature, they spend a long time on social media, where young people are already discussing some issues.
This issue affects young people because climate change is directly affecting their future negatively. They face heatwaves, rising sea levels and very high temperatures, which affect their life and makes it UNSTABLE. Why are the innocent generations of today face all of these things in the future? However, they care and are interested; they organize school debates, giving themselves their OWN voice.
As an example, here in Egypt, governments mostly care for building new factories, bridges and create trains, all these things cost MILLIONS of money, however, they ignore youth voices. Yes, I agree that building these buildings are important but giving young people a voice about climate change deserves more. Paying the same millions of money to stop and face climate change is much more important than building new things. Think about the future, how would all these projects help young people.
Can you imagine that the people most affected by climate change have the least influence on it?
Climate change highlights that young people's interests are being overlooked as their interests and voices on the decisions made today, which would shape their future, are ignored.
You raise very important issues. Do you think lowering the voting age can give younger people sufficient influence to start changing the decision making of the older generations and business leaders?
That's a great question that reveals the idea of "considering other perspectives and listening to others". If young people are allowed to vote to just change what others do without a reason or understanding why they did that, they shouldn't be allowed to vote as voting as isn't only about clicking on a choice; it's about listening to other perspectives to understand the full landscape of something, to gain experience, to learn that having a different idea from someone else isn't embarrassing or wrong and to be a fair and "democratic" person.
Another reason for my view is that listening to other perspectives develop important skills like critical thinking skills, problem-solving, communication skills, and collaboration. Listening unlocks the ability to think critically and make connection between ideas to solve huge problems. Without listening, the best ideas can have a risk of being misunderstood or ignored.
Overall, I believe that if young people had the chance to vote, they would have a sufficient influence to discuss and argue on the decision making of older generations and business leaders not "changing" their actions. Young people can suggest ideas that didn't come to old people's minds, which would persuade and let them shift their minds. And this is the same with young people; when they hear to older generations, they can think about something differently and learn from rea- life experiences that they WILL STILL face.
I chose climate change because young people can tell creative ideas and perspectives about how to solve it. Actually, they can reduce that huge disaster. Thomas said in the video that young people may have a marvelous mentality like adults, and it is not necessary to vote in the elections or express your feeling at the age of 18 or even 21. Young people talk about their actual feelings (not biased and no fake information) moreover they have innovation and by the way, the young people's creativity and diversity can reduce and decrease the impact of a disastrous calamity like climate change.
For me, climate change affects me and my friends a lot. In these days, we stopped opening the window while going to school in the bus. Pollution causes climate change. Normally in Egypt, winter is warm and summer is hot but in 2025, everything was different. The winter was freezing all citizens and in summer, it was too hot.
In some cities and towns like the 6 of October city, there are many factories that produce a lot of smoke. This causes air pollution and causes climate change. Unfortunately, most of the students in my school live in these areas and also me. I live near to it. Even my school is in this area. When I am going to my school, I see a lot of factories that produce horrible and dark-colored-smoke.
To conclude, young people in Egypt are facing a terrible problem (climate change) furthermore if we have the rights and democracy to tell solutions, we can figure how to solve climate change.
I chose housing affordability/ home ownership. Housing prices in Cape Town an area in South Africa are heavily inflated due to the lack of supply of houses for sale and the huge demand for housing. This issue is heavily affecting everyone in the country in one way or another but it is severely affecting students and young people looking for housing but are unable to find anything. This issue is not being looked at well enough and as a result of this lots of informal housing has formed around Cape Town. Not only are these areas where a lot of violence takes place but it also lacks basic amenities such as water and refuge removal. This is keeping young people stuck in poverty as they are unable to buy formal housing due to the combination of inflated prices and severe unemployment. This problem mainly affecting young people in townships is not being addressed as well as it should be due to the fact that young peoples' problems are not taken seriously. As Thomas said in the video young people can make just as good cold decisions as older people and therefore their thoughts and problems must be taken seriously.
Hi, I'm Valentina, a senior legal counsel at UBS. My daily duties involve drafting & negotiating commercial contracts as well as advising business stakeholders in the areas of investment management & regulatory change. I'd like to say: a point very well made. Would you like to be able to vote from age 16 onwards? Do you think lowering the age threshold for general and/or local elections might help?
Hi, I'm Valentina, a senior legal counsel at UBS. My daily duties involve drafting & negotiating commercial contracts as well as advising business stakeholders in the areas of investment management & regulatory change. I'd like to say: a point very well made. Would you like to be able to vote from age 16 onwards? Do you think lowering the age threshold for general and/or local elections might help?
I chose education and student debt poll option because in my opinion it is the most important thing and in South Africa a lot of young people struggle when it comes to education. This issue affects young people because there is a huge shortage of schools and many people are not able to participate and get the education they are entitled to because governments are not responding to these issues quickly enough and this is how the concept of democracy is diminished as education is the groundwork for creating informed citizens .There is also very limited opportunities for higher education as university is the only option but this is big problem as universities are very expensive and many can not afford to attend universities, there are also many that attend that had to find means of income to support their further studies like student loans or jobs. In many countries not just South Africa many students struggle to pay their loans and have to find jobs but many struggle to get jobs to pay off this debt especially in South Africa as there is lack of jobs. However, others might feel that climate change is more important as we are currently experiencing the consequences of climate change but education again is the foundation to creating informed citizens that can form solutions to climate change .
If I had the opportunity to join Thomas' group, I would. I said in another comment that voting should start at maybe 12 or 13, and so many arguments followed that it is way too young, out of immaturity, and a lack of experience. As for 16, surely this should be considered, because at age 16, you expect that, after completing various life phases and possibly even working for themselves, they should be smart and responsible enough to vote. They add that youth, they know the world we live in, how things work, and have a good poise for the future, which is why the strong belief that they should be able to vote.
I think education is being overlooked, because what Thomas said proves 16 year olds have the same capacity to from political views and opinions, yet it’s overlooked and the right to vote from 16 has not been implemented for most countries. This affects young people, because if we had the eduction on how to safely from political opinions, it would ease a period in life where many young adults are scrambling across evidence to make an opinion out of it. Not only this, but it would allow many youths and teenagers to get a better grasp on global situations, and possibly reach out to help. Others may feel that 16 year olds aren’t invested enough in politics to vote, but we cannot say that for sure without testing it. We’ve never given the opportunity as young as 16, and we’ve never taught them how as young as 16. Its new territory which should be explored, and many adults are overlooking that. While hot decisions are still developing, that by no means limits the capability of calm informed decisions, as Thomas also says.
The young people in South Africa are concerned about climate change because in multiple reports they have mentioned the fact that South Africa 's "heatwaves will increase in future years". In provincial government news there is not near enough mention that South Africa is currently facing heatwaves. Currently the government has not provided any long term solutions to climate change. One of the ways the government could lessen the severity of climate change in the long run is by lessening the amount of greenhouse gasses being emitted into the atmosphere. Although South Africa has introduced solar panels into one of the ways we make energy they are there to simply help produce more electricity to keep up with the demand for electricity. Power plants have not reduced their use of coal or other greenhouse gas emitting sources, therefore linking back to the statement "Currently the government has not provided any long term solutions to climate change." Young people have protested these issues but have been overlooked. A prime example of environmental and climate change factors being overlooked is Anton Bredell, when elections took place he was overlooked therefore confirming that government does not care enough about the environment to put funds towards it.
Climate change effects us on a day to day basis yet we do not care enough about it!
I choose jobs and wages because as Thomas said teens can still make their own decisions.I think that this has been neglected for ages since the adult decision makers are not taking into consideration that some teen are working to support their families and may be the only bread winners for them.They may be trying to pay for the fees of their schools or study at university.Not to menton the fact that some of these young people are starting their own businesses online or on a lrage scale.Should they pay taxes ? Should their taxes be the same as the ones that the adults are paying?Others might feel that housing is more important for young people.I think with the advent of AI , it is all about finding a job earlier in your life to start your real career .Delaying it will keep you of the track.The global world of jobs is changing almost quarterly.
I chose climate change because it is a problem the youth are going to have to deal with and like Thomas said youth have the mental capability to do so then they should be part of the solution sooner than later. Letting youth vote strengthens our democracy in this sense and allows people around the world like Thomas to have their say in what they think we should do about this urgent crisis. On the other hand though some might believe that no matter if we can make informed decisions adults are adults and they should be the ones calling the shots. They think that because they are closed minded if we can get more people like Thomas casting votes into our democracy then as a planet we will be able to adresss Climate Change for the better. In conclsion having a strong democracy with lots of different views is important and one from a younger side is important.