Youth and Marginalization: A Social Justice Approach

New generations are among the most vulnerable social categories and at risk of marginalization both in the societies of the southern hemisphere and in the wealthy of the north. Although this theme represents a debated topic in youth studies, it has only recently been analyzed in relation to social justice. Despite the evident interest for the research field, these approaches are sectoral and not yet capable of offering an overall interpretative framework of the processes of youth marginalization and social injustices. This chapter offers a unitary cognitive framework of the marginalization processes of the new generations that originate from the social contradictions produced by individualization and by the emergence of both material, relational and cultural social injustices. In order to integrate these aspects into a single framework, reference is made to the work of Gino Germani whose theoretical model allows to grasp and interpret the complexity of youth marginality. In particular, this approach highlights how the concept of marginality, understood as lack of participation, recalls the failure of individualization and of the recognition process. It also develops a paradigm where the explanatory model is based on an intersectional approach. This model highlights that marginality does not concern only social classes but is the product of two forms of injustice: redistribution and recognition.