“What is the Matter With Young People These Days?”
Posted on August 5, 2023 by Dave Pollard
Pew Research surveys of other countries’ view of China, over time; if you ever doubted the power of propaganda, this should set you straight; thanks to Indi for the link
Over the past five decades I have watched the political views of my ‘boomer’ generation shift further and further right. In the process I’ve found myself more and more in agreement with “the younger generations” and less and less with my own. In every survey that includes a demographic breakdown, my views have aligned most closely with those of women in the youngest age bracket.
At least, that was the case until about five years ago. Gradually, the sociopolitical views of GenX have moved right to the point those views are indistinguishable from those of Boomers. But more surprisingly, the views of Millennials and GenZ (aka “Plurals”) on military and political interventions in other countries, generations that have been historically opposed to such interventions, have recently swung hard right.
The massive, IMO horrific, propaganda-driven shift in western attitudes toward China from mostly positive to overwhelmingly negative (see charts above) have cut across all generations and western nations. Statements by Biden and the Pentagon/CIA that China (the US’s largest trade partner) “threatens” the west’s political and economic dominance and hence must be opposed by every possible means, struck me, when I first heard them, as the senile, paranoid blatherings of people who just didn’t understand how the world really works. After all, the offshoring of manufacturing to China, instituted starting with Nixon and expanded by every government since, is the only thing that has kept the essential goods of western society affordable to all but the ultra-rich, and hence prevented the collapse of most of the western financialized do-nothing economies.
Now, suddenly, westerners of every generation are banging the drums for war with China, (and with Russia and other countries), and it’s young westerners who are banging the drums the loudest!
Citing a very recent Newsweek poll, Billmon at Moon of Alabama reports:
In the poll, those identified as “Millennial,” between 27 and 42 years old, were most likely to “strongly support” committing U.S. troops to Ukraine. However, more respondents aged between 18-26 (Gen Z) said they would support the measure overall, 47 percent saying they supported or strongly supported sending U.S. troops.
Nearly a third of respondents aged over 59 said they opposed pledging U.S. troops to Ukraine, with a further 25 percent “strongly” opposing the suggestion.
WTF? While Billmon rather belligerently suggests sending the younger generations to boot camp in Europe to change their minds, my reaction was more: What the hell has happened here?
I am flummoxed, to use an old word that generations since the boomers would probably have to look up. One third of Americans think the US should send troops to Ukraine (tantamount to a declaration of war and massively increasing the risk of world war III and nuclear Armageddon ), one third are opposed, and one third are on the fence. And the younger generations (and Democrats) are much more in favour of direct military intervention. What are these (young, theoretically more ‘progressive’) people smoking?
That’s all I’ve got. I have no explanation, not even a theory. What am I missing here?
13 Responses to “What is the Matter With Young People These Days?”
Glennis Moriarty says:
August 6, 2023 at 00:04
Do you think something is lacking in education systems worldwide? Objectivity? Being taught to see both sides of an argument? With the cult of individualism, young people are taught that how each person *feels* is the most important thing – which makes them prime targets for propaganda. And as history shows, propaganda wielded by a few sociopaths (especially now, via social media) can change the thinking and actions of many.
