Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

harpers.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 250 posts

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#51

Post by throw-234 »

> Our gerontocracy is not the result of a malevolent plan, .. Boomers aren't distinctively evil.. The fact that they are so numerous and the fact that they are aging in era when life has been extended make the syndrome endemic. .. America faces a gerontocratic crisis of succession on the scale of society itself. The melodrama of succession—­waiting for the old to make way for the new—­defines not only our politics but also our economy and our culture writ large.

I'll be honest, everyone I know thinks cordial relations between the generations are over. Seems like the author knows it too but wants to be gentle. Let's just say it. America straight up looks Saturn devouring his children. Is he horrified? Sure, but mostly just horrified to be caught in the act. And now that he thinks about it, kind of disgusted with you that you'd want to be so judgemental about the whole thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son

We may continue to see generational wealth-pumps installed by the elderly to destroy the youth, but at some point soon it will be a kind of survival cannibalism. Boomers did it for fun and are still doubling down every chance they get.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#52

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

Terr_ wrote: post #38
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #33

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc." Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood." (Yes I acknowledge ther…

But are they the same commentators each time?

I didn't claim they were. Just claimed that those two narratives have been coexisting for a while and I've never seen them duke it out.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#53

Post by jandrewrogers »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #33

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc." Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood." (Yes I acknowledge ther…

Honestly, 45 year olds will probably have some of the most objective views across that reality.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#55

Post by jmull »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #33

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc." Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood." (Yes I acknowledge ther…

It's almost like there are different people out there with different ideas about things.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#56

Post by RickS »

I have trouble predicting how public sentiment will evolve over time.

I'm not that young, and still and the last 10 years have left me with an absolutely blistering distrust of the 70+ crowd on any matter pertaining to positions of authority. I'd like to see ~67 and ~72 become the other 18 and 21: hard lines beyond which the law progressively rescinds the presumption of total competence.

It's not a pretty solution. There are certainly some 14 year olds who are more deserving of a drivers license than many of legal age. I would welcome a world where we can actually establish and enforce criteria that allow us to move beyond such crude numeric thresholds. But in the meantime, the bulk of us need protection from statistics. Desperately.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#58

Post by WalterBright »

hilariously wrote: post #32
lenerdenator wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's happening in the US, too. I know of a senior couple where the husband recently retired after forty years of working in a professional field. They live in a house worth over $750k that is paid off. They have three new or late-model vehicles. Both the husband and wife could, if necessary, work for an income. They also collect Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance checks after enrolling for them. The common…

Because they were promised it - fundamentally leaving the rich out of the social safety net doesn't even get us much and administrating the distinction costs money, and I am no fan of the wealthiest get additional benefits. I think solving inequality will not be about reducing access to said safety nets but increasing them for all.

The problem with "solving inequality" is there is no incentive for one to do better. If one can live as well as everyone else, with no effort, why should one make the effort?

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#59

Post by throw-234 »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #53
0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #33

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc." Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood." (Yes I acknowledge ther…

Honestly, 45 year olds will probably have some of the most objective views across that reality.

Ah yes, the squeeze in the middle. My default assumption is that people outside ~35-45 range are often impatient to the point that they are, for practical purposes, functionally illiterate

Older side has those who invented and lived by powerpoints / the executive summary, and they are more executive than ever, preferring to leave early or not show up at all because it's time for golf. On the younger side, people who grew up on social media and twitter, very media literate in some respects but also often stuck at high-school level reading / writing at best. They are leaving early too, because it's not like staying will help them get ahead!

You know what these very diverse groups have in common? Shared disinterest in nuance, and the idea that no matter how subtle something is, 280 chars or 2 slides should just about cover it.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#60

Post by Terr_ »

WalterBright wrote: post #58
hilariously wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they were promised it - fundamentally leaving the rich out of the social safety net doesn't even get us much and administrating the distinction costs money, and I am no fan of the wealthiest get additional benefits. I think solving inequality will not be about reducing access to said safety nets but increasing them for all.

The problem with "solving inequality" is there is no incentive for one to do better. If one can live as well as everyone else, with no effort, why should one make the effort?

Kind of a strawman though, innit? If "civilization will stagnate and humans will be unmotivated blobs" is one extreme, then the other is something like "condoning economic genocide".

In reality, few are concerned that Alice has a much nicer car than Bob, compared to concerns that Bob will die without insulin. Get Bob his insulin, and he will still be motivated to have a nicer car.

Post reply on HN