The Coming Generation War In The U.S.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) presides over the U.S. House of Representatives inside the House Chamber in this still image taken from video on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 10, 2019. U.S. House TV/Handout via Reuters

Niall Ferguson & Eyck Freymann, The Atlantic: The Coming Generation War

The Democrats are rapidly becoming the party of the young—and the consequences could be profound.

“There is a mysterious cycle in human events,” said Franklin Delano Roosevelt, accepting the Democratic nomination for president in Philadelphia in 1936. “To some generations much is given. Of others much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”

In the 20th century, many sociologists and historians flirted with the idea that generational changes could explain U.S. politics. The historians Arthur Schlesinger Sr. and Jr. wrote about “cycles of American history,” arguing that, as the generations turn, American politics rotates inexorably between liberal and conservative consensus. More recently, a new generational scheme has come into vogue. William Strauss and Neil Howe’s theory of the “fourth turning” predicts a crisis and a major political realignment every 80 to 90 years. (Strauss and Howe were briefly in the spotlight in 2016 after Steve Bannon praised their work.)

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WNU Editor: There is a lot of truth to this analysis, and one that I have made in private presentations when asked what do I see is the future of the U.S. when it comes to politics/economics/culture/and international relations. Case in point. I regard Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not only as a radical, but someone who is totally ignorant and naive on issues of economics and international politics .... even though her university background is in economics and via through her parents she has been educated on international relations. But for her own generation, her views and thinking are shared by much of her generation (the Millennials and Generation Z, i.e. Americans aged 18 to 38), and she and people like her are now the driving force in Democrat politics and will be for decades. This is a generational conflict, and the consequences of this radical shift to the left on economic and societal/cultural issues are going to be profound. It will impact American domestic policies and programs, the military, and doubly so on U.S. foreign policies and relations. But this is nothing new. The young always end up throwing out the old, and yes, the America that I have gotten to know in the past 30 years will not be the America 30 years from now. My big worry about this trend is how the Millennial and Generation Z are responding to those who do no share their opinion. More to the point .... they do not take criticisms and alternative point of views lightly, and in some cases push to censor contrarian points of view. I am seeing this happening on social media platforms, university forums, and in the media, and to say that this is not a healthy sign is an understatement. When you believe that you know everything, that tells me that you are not interested in learning. And when you are not interested in learning, you can never correct a situation when it goes wrong, or worse, blame others for your mistakes.