The Screwed Generation Turns Socialist

[DonViejo]

The Depression and WWII shaped the greatest generation, and postwar prosperity shaped the Baby Boomers. Millennials, battered by capitalism, move ever leftward.

JOEL KOTKIN

02.19.17 12:15 AM ET

Increasingly American politics are driven by generational change. The election of Donald Trump was not just a triumph of whiter, heartland America. It also confirmed the still considerable voting power of the older generation. Yet over time, as those of us who have lived long enough well know, generations decline, and die off, and new ones ascend.

In this past election, those over 45 strongly favored Trump, while those younger than that cast their ballots for Clinton. Trump’s improbable victory, and the more significant GOP sweep across the country, demonstrated that the much-ballyhooed millennials simply are not yet sufficiently numerous or united enough to overcome the votes of the older generations.

Yet over time, the millennials—arguably the most progressive generation since the ’30s—could drive our politics not only leftward, but towards an increasingly socialist reality, overturning many of the very things that long have defined American life. This could presage a war of generations over everything from social mores to economics and could well define our politics for the next decade.

To best understand the battle lines, you must know the generations and their differences, and where they will leave this increasingly fractured republic.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/19/the-screwed-generation-turns-socialist.html

[CanonRay]

1. That's what I thought in the 60's, and look at my generation now.

Way to many Trump crazies.

[SHRED]

2. Exactly

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I don't think that's true

In the Sixties, those of us on the left were louder than those on the right. But I knew a lot of Goldwater supporters, when I was in college. There were also an increasing number of self-styled Libertarians who, then as now, were scarcely distinguishable from rightwingers.

I'm not sure that the proportion of leftists vs. rightists in the Sixties generation has changed. What has changed is which segment is more visible.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. This is encouraging

Let's hope it's accurate.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

5. The article implies that the definition of American life ...

...is incompatible with socialist philosophy. That's absolutely incorrect. I like that millennials are politically geared towards the left, but have trouble with the article's implication. Maybe, I'm inferring incorrectly? Did anyone else get the same feeling when reading the article?