Voices of neoliberal freedom: convergent perspectives of young Chilean men from contrasting social positions

Despite their often perceived linearity, the past, present, and future are intricately woven together. Previous experiences shape our perception, nourishing potential scenarios and enriching our evaluations. Sociocultural contexts reinforce this interplay, directing our attention toward various aspects based on our social positions. This scenario forms the context for the present study, which investigates perspectives of young Chilean men from two considerably distinct life conditions: business students and incarcerated individuals. Using semistructured interviews and a phenomenologically inspired analysis, we found that participants (amidst COVID-19) referred to similar pessimistic evaluations for their country but, on the contrary, remarkably converged on optimistic future expectations for their personal lives. Despite their markedly different personal life stories. The conclusions point to the stark experience of individuals "freed" from social structure, nurtured by recent neoliberal Chilean history.