funeralxempire
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24 Jan 2023, 8:50 pm
ASPartOfMe wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
Like the OP most people become less progressive/more conservative as they age.
Just so you're aware, that trend has not occurred with millennials.
Odds are Gen Z will follow that pattern as well unless significant economic changes occur that make home ownership, children and marriage more feasible for more people.
The oldest Millennials are just getting into their 40s so we will see. If conservative continues to equal MAGA insurrectionists you will probably be right. Trumpism has been going on for over 7 years now that probably not only blunted the trend but reversed it radicalizing people.
It's not just that, it's the economy. People don't become more conservative as they age, they become more conservative as conservative policies start to be more favourable to them based on their living circumstances.
If people aren't any more ahead at 40 than they were at 20 you can assume they'll find more appeal in the same politics one might associate with 20 year olds. After all, they're in the same boat but they've had a lot more time to think about it.
In particular I was always shocked to encounter peers of mine who I knew for being conservative in high school who now sound to the left of me. It's some sort of fancy crossover maneuver and now they're passing me on the inside (aka the left).
Why assume bad economic times will lead people to go left? I doubt the MAGA phenomenon would be nearly as big without the economic dislocation of the "Great Recession". Many argue that racism, not economics is central to the phenomenon. Racism is a big factor but it would be a lot less salient in a better economy. The system is rigged, burn it down. History is replete with right-wing authoritarians gaining power using economic dislocation.
The growth of the populist right is also a reflection of the same things driving people towards social democracy and further left ideologies. They're all expressions of people believing things don't work for them.
Racism is a factor, or more broadly 'reaction to the left' is also a factor driving the MAGAs and similar, but that doesn't mean economic prospects aren't a substantial contributor, in particular when discussing the left.
24 Jan 2023, 10:46 pm
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