De markt van vermaak en plezier. Over het ontstaan van een zelfstandige jeugdcultuur in België en Nederland

Samenvatting

A contrastive analysis is presented of the rise of autonomous youth cultures in Belgium & Netherlands, 1955-1965. In both countries, this phenomenon is often explained in terms of the emergence of a new leisure market. However, it is argued that the modern consumer mentality is a cultural solution to daily problems brought on by the rationalization of the social system rather than by consumer greed. The cultural form of the new mentality was slightly different for the two countries. In the Netherlands, a weakening of the pillarization system was observed, while in Belgium, youth culture adapted more to existing pillarized structures. Thus, the developmental differences depended largely on the modality of professional attention surrounding the youth. Future research should emphasize issues of professionalization. 45 References.