No Space of their Own: Young People and Social Control in Australia

Thisbookwasfirstpublishedin1990.InAustralia,asinotherWesternsocieties,youngpeoplearefacingacrisis.Structuralchangesintheeconomyhavefundamentallyalteredthetransitionfromchildtoadult.Manyyoungpeoplemustchoosebetweenexploitedlabourandcrime.RobWhitecutsthroughthepoliticalrhetoricandmediaimagesofyoungpeople,andexposestheunderlyingtrendsofsociety'sresponsetothe'youthproblem'.Heshowshowwell-meaningprogrammesintendedto'help'youngpeopleinfactserveasagentsofsocialcontrol,reducingandregulatingthespacetheycanoccupy.AllaroundAustralia,governmentsaretreatingthesymptomsbutignoringthecauses.Theschoolsystem,trainingprogrammes,youthworkers,campaignsagainstdrugabuseandcrime-allexertpressureonyoungpeopletoconformtothedemandsofasocietyinwhichtheyhavenosay.