JOEL KOTKIN: BEGUN, THE GENERATIONAL WAR HAS.
Although conditions differ by country, the spark behind these protests lies in both the real and the fitfully imagined: high housing prices, food inflation, lack of good jobs and failing education systems are not figments of their imaginations. At the same time, cries of poverty seem a bit overwrought for a generation that enjoys the most wealth in history and, in the West at least, their protest seems to stem from being raised to think they were special, only to find out that the world is not such a welcoming place.
The new generational war is fueled by a deep pessimism among those under 40 about the future. This, noted a 2022 Pew study, is particularly marked in Japan, France and Italy, with majorities of adult parents seeing a bleaker future for the next generation by more than three to one. The United States also does poorly with 72 per cent, while Canada does even worse, clocking in at 75 per cent.
People have been telling young people their future was going to suck since I was a kid, even as society has gotten steadily richer, healthier, and safer. And rioting is unlikely to make a better future. But the people encouraging the rioting are mostly old, and do not have young people’s interests at heart.