The Lost Boys of Liberal Democracy

How Western societies abandoned young men — and why that’s a danger to us all.

In today’s liberal democracies, a quiet crisis is unfolding: young men are falling behind, dropping out, and drifting toward the political and social fringes. We see the signs everywhere — in the rise of male suicide rates, in educational underachievement, in toxic online subcultures, and in the disturbing resurgence of reactionary politics marketed to disaffected youth. For years, Western societies have viewed young men as a problem to be managed rather than as citizens in need of meaning, dignity, and inclusion. The consequences are now becoming dangerously clear.

In school systems across the West, boys consistently underperform compared to girls. They are more likely to be diagnosed with learning disabilities, less likely to attend university, and more likely to drop out altogether. While these trends have been visible for decades, they have been met with silence — or worse, with a kind of moral satisfaction, as if historical male dominance justifies present neglect.

Outside the classroom, the picture is equally grim. Economic transformations have gutted many of the jobs that once offered young men a path to stable adulthood. At the same time, the cultural narratives of progress and inclusivity have rarely included positive models of masculinity. Instead, many young men are told — implicitly or explicitly — that they are part of the problem: beneficiaries of patriarchy, inheritors of colonialism, potential perpetrators of harm.

When society tells young men that they are both privileged and powerless, both dominant and disposable, confusion and resentment take root.