Generation Z is often described as distracted, cynical, politically inconsistent, or allergic to institutions. But this description misses the deeper rupture. What distinguishes this generation is not a lack of politics but the collapse of faith in the institutions and rules that once gave politics, work, and adulthood a recognizable structure.

For decades, capitalism promised young people a sequence: education would lead to work; work would lead to stability; stability would lead to a home, a family, and a life with some measure of dignity. This promise was never distributed equally. For many, it was always fragile. But for Generation Z, it has now become almost impossible to believe in.

Across very different societies, young people are entering adulthood through the same narrow door. Behind that door lie precarious jobs, unstable housing, student and consumer debt, algorithmically managed labor markets, climate anxiety, and political institutions that appear either too weak or too captured to change anything meaningful.