Behind all the shouting, all the protests, and the polarization is a more fundamental problem, one that dogs every society, sooner or later: there may not be enough to go around.
1. To address the doubtful theory about the Millennial cohort picking up the economic slack 15 - 20 years from now when they become asset rich; I'm pretty doubtful of that myself. I'm a Millennial and while, over the years, I have seen one or two in my circle break through the odds and get a house and start to accrue wealth, most are just floundering, and I really don't see the circumstances in society at large changing enough to make that, in turn, change. A lot of them are beaten down and pretty much given up on home ownership, marriage, families, economic advancement, so on and so forth. I'd say they made peace with it, but that implies (I think) a sense of contentment they don't and probably never will have about the situation. I have a bad feeling they will remain bitter about being deprived of what they saw as givens for the rest of their lives, if circumstances don't change, which, again, I don't see that being the case. It seems like every time that things do look as if they're bending a certain way, some convenient black swan event just happens to swoop in and throw things into turmoil again. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but, if I could put on my tin-foil hat for a moment... if I didn't know any better, I'd say that all of this is by design, almost a controlled-demolition of sorts to create a generation of serfs. Not saying that's the case - I'm really not sold on it myself - but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Which leads me to my second point...
2. I think the biggest source of this discontentment stems not from the fact that Zoomers and Millennials have less than previous generations and see those generations - boomers especially - flaunt that wealth then turn around spit in their face when they complain. That would be bad enough, but I think under better circumstances, many more really COULD make actual peace with it and find some sort of personal contentment in their lives. But, unfortunately, Americans are the single most psy-opped people on planet Earth, and subjected to a basically unending, ceaseless, and relentless barrage of various pieces of propaganda from every screen they look at, each one of them telling them that their lives SHOULD be better and that they're fuck-ups and failures for not meeting those standards. That's advertising 101. I get it. "Oh, you don't have product X? Well, only losers don't have product X." But we don't just have regular, standard advertisements now that display and depict consumer indulgence and consumption of a bygone era, but social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are home to fabulously wealthy influencers who are literally just paid to sit there and look pretty on the internet and shill for products. But seeing those influencers and the opulence they flaunt just makes 99.9% of their audience feel like shit because of course they're going to. I can't imagine how it must feel to be a Wal-Mart employee that works double-shifts just to pay rent seeing some 19 year old wastoid with a pill problem and the vocabulary of a well-educated chimpanzee raking in millions with product placement just because he or she had a viral tiktok. It's basically nothing but demoralization porn beamed right into these people's eyes nonstop. Of course, there's a degree of personal responsibility to delete those apps, turn off your phone, and get mentally healthy away from all that, but I see why Zoomers have such an issue with that when so much of their social lives, hobbies, and increasingly every part of their lives are wrapped up an internet awash in content specifically calculated through hundreds of millions of dollars of marketing research to make them feel terrible and buy more. That's ultimately why I feel like things aren't going to change, at least not through political means - there's too many people and market forces making bank by harvesting despair in the younger generations in America. I think it's ultimately more profitable for them to continue to milk every cent they can out of these people in their poor mental and financial states than it would be for them to get less in the short term but more in the long term by fostering a culture that breeds financial and mental stability and sustainability, if that makes sense. The way it seems to me from the outside looking in is that the strategy for the people at the top is to bilk as money much out of the bottom 99% as fast as they possibly can and jump ship before the consequences catch up to them.
Point is; I really don't think things are going to get better for the Zoomer generation anytime soon, but they could certainly start working on it if they divorced themselves from the parasitic drain that is social media.
Thanks for the reply. Part of what you're saying reminds me of Paul Skallas (I think he's Lindyman on Twitter; been a while since I've checked on him though, he might have changed his name/branding) on the nature of poverty and the illusion of stability in America and how as much of the chaos, hand-wringing, and despair of the Millennial/Zoomer cohorts that were raised middle class moving down on the economic ladder and being forced to contend with a totally different reality than what they were conditioned to expect. He makes the claim that life in the lower-class rung of society in America is far more violent and dangerous than those in other developed countries. I'm not entirely sure if that's accurate, but on the surface, it certainly appears that way. That's kind of a different can of worms though.
I'll be sure to watch that video - I'm kind of out of the loop when it comes to the Weinsteins and I always hear pretty mixed reactions about their content but "kayfabrication"it pretty much exactly a word that I needed in my life because I would agree that's exactly what's happened. I've even been saying for years that politics seems to be a giant kayfabe racket these days.
America is arguably the most violent developed country in the world. That's without question. The irony is that we're also the world's most developed on aggregate, most powerful country.
I've never understood the hate the Weinstein Bros. get. Putting that aside, one sure sign that politics has become pro wrestling is that it doesn't even matter what the politician says anymore. It's *how* they say it. I don't want to sound like I'm endorsing him, but arguably, RFK Jr. is the "issues candidate." For years, I heard Americans, particularly younger Americans, say they want a president who talks about the issues.
Well, that man is here in the form of RFK. But do you think anyone's going to really vote for him? What does that say about how seriously anyone takes politics anymore?
The late Juan Linz also said, over 30 years ago, authoritarianism is preceded by the emergency of "personality presidents." The more personality becomes central to the appeal of a political leader, the more likely a dictator will eventaully arise.
Ironically, having to live life in such an organized and deliberate manner may result in Zoomers being the most orderly generation in a long time. How that translates politically is anyone's guess at the moment.
1. To address the doubtful theory about the Millennial cohort picking up the economic slack 15 - 20 years from now when they become asset rich; I'm pretty doubtful of that myself. I'm a Millennial and while, over the years, I have seen one or two in my circle break through the odds and get a house and start to accrue wealth, most are just floundering, and I really don't see the circumstances in society at large changing enough to make that, in turn, change. A lot of them are beaten down and pretty much given up on home ownership, marriage, families, economic advancement, so on and so forth. I'd say they made peace with it, but that implies (I think) a sense of contentment they don't and probably never will have about the situation. I have a bad feeling they will remain bitter about being deprived of what they saw as givens for the rest of their lives, if circumstances don't change, which, again, I don't see that being the case. It seems like every time that things do look as if they're bending a certain way, some convenient black swan event just happens to swoop in and throw things into turmoil again. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but, if I could put on my tin-foil hat for a moment... if I didn't know any better, I'd say that all of this is by design, almost a controlled-demolition of sorts to create a generation of serfs. Not saying that's the case - I'm really not sold on it myself - but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Which leads me to my second point...
2. I think the biggest source of this discontentment stems not from the fact that Zoomers and Millennials have less than previous generations and see those generations - boomers especially - flaunt that wealth then turn around spit in their face when they complain. That would be bad enough, but I think under better circumstances, many more really COULD make actual peace with it and find some sort of personal contentment in their lives. But, unfortunately, Americans are the single most psy-opped people on planet Earth, and subjected to a basically unending, ceaseless, and relentless barrage of various pieces of propaganda from every screen they look at, each one of them telling them that their lives SHOULD be better and that they're fuck-ups and failures for not meeting those standards. That's advertising 101. I get it. "Oh, you don't have product X? Well, only losers don't have product X." But we don't just have regular, standard advertisements now that display and depict consumer indulgence and consumption of a bygone era, but social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are home to fabulously wealthy influencers who are literally just paid to sit there and look pretty on the internet and shill for products. But seeing those influencers and the opulence they flaunt just makes 99.9% of their audience feel like shit because of course they're going to. I can't imagine how it must feel to be a Wal-Mart employee that works double-shifts just to pay rent seeing some 19 year old wastoid with a pill problem and the vocabulary of a well-educated chimpanzee raking in millions with product placement just because he or she had a viral tiktok. It's basically nothing but demoralization porn beamed right into these people's eyes nonstop. Of course, there's a degree of personal responsibility to delete those apps, turn off your phone, and get mentally healthy away from all that, but I see why Zoomers have such an issue with that when so much of their social lives, hobbies, and increasingly every part of their lives are wrapped up an internet awash in content specifically calculated through hundreds of millions of dollars of marketing research to make them feel terrible and buy more. That's ultimately why I feel like things aren't going to change, at least not through political means - there's too many people and market forces making bank by harvesting despair in the younger generations in America. I think it's ultimately more profitable for them to continue to milk every cent they can out of these people in their poor mental and financial states than it would be for them to get less in the short term but more in the long term by fostering a culture that breeds financial and mental stability and sustainability, if that makes sense. The way it seems to me from the outside looking in is that the strategy for the people at the top is to bilk as money much out of the bottom 99% as fast as they possibly can and jump ship before the consequences catch up to them.
Point is; I really don't think things are going to get better for the Zoomer generation anytime soon, but they could certainly start working on it if they divorced themselves from the parasitic drain that is social media.
Updated the post with your comment and my reaction.
Thanks for the reply. Part of what you're saying reminds me of Paul Skallas (I think he's Lindyman on Twitter; been a while since I've checked on him though, he might have changed his name/branding) on the nature of poverty and the illusion of stability in America and how as much of the chaos, hand-wringing, and despair of the Millennial/Zoomer cohorts that were raised middle class moving down on the economic ladder and being forced to contend with a totally different reality than what they were conditioned to expect. He makes the claim that life in the lower-class rung of society in America is far more violent and dangerous than those in other developed countries. I'm not entirely sure if that's accurate, but on the surface, it certainly appears that way. That's kind of a different can of worms though.
I'll be sure to watch that video - I'm kind of out of the loop when it comes to the Weinsteins and I always hear pretty mixed reactions about their content but "kayfabrication"it pretty much exactly a word that I needed in my life because I would agree that's exactly what's happened. I've even been saying for years that politics seems to be a giant kayfabe racket these days.
America is arguably the most violent developed country in the world. That's without question. The irony is that we're also the world's most developed on aggregate, most powerful country.
I've never understood the hate the Weinstein Bros. get. Putting that aside, one sure sign that politics has become pro wrestling is that it doesn't even matter what the politician says anymore. It's *how* they say it. I don't want to sound like I'm endorsing him, but arguably, RFK Jr. is the "issues candidate." For years, I heard Americans, particularly younger Americans, say they want a president who talks about the issues.
Well, that man is here in the form of RFK. But do you think anyone's going to really vote for him? What does that say about how seriously anyone takes politics anymore?
The late Juan Linz also said, over 30 years ago, authoritarianism is preceded by the emergency of "personality presidents." The more personality becomes central to the appeal of a political leader, the more likely a dictator will eventaully arise.
Ironically, having to live life in such an organized and deliberate manner may result in Zoomers being the most orderly generation in a long time. How that translates politically is anyone's guess at the moment.
Post updated with your comments and my remarks.