The Group: Distinctive Traits
摘要
The chapter aims to reconstruct a portrait of the individuals involved in the groups to which the young activists refer, based on the descriptions provided by the latter, focussing on the main distinctive elements of collective identification. As expected, political orientation emerges as a core factor; however, while some speak of a shared political vision, others refer to shared goals and sensitivities that are not structured in a common ideological framework. Relevant factors are also tools and forms of action: “what is done”, “why it is done”, and “how it is done” are all potential elements of identification. Moreover, a varied array of common attitudes, sensitivities, and preferences has often been presented as characterising the groups regarding clothing, consumption, leisure time, interpersonal relationships, and more generally, lifestyles. In the eyes of young activists, then, internal cohesion is jointly rooted in political references, social sensibilities, representations of reality, relational modes, tastes, interests and everyday practices. The weight and relevance of each of these factors in relation to the others varies from group to group and from individual to individual, and the political element does not always have such a clear primacy.