Understanding the New Socialist Generation

Originally posted by Scott th Ratbag: ↑

"Many young people claim to be socialists but are instead simply angry that they were unable to afford a home, a new car, or other nice things, or start a family ...". ........

Cheers @willial. I think the above quote says it all really, and this has been consistent across generations. Its not a modern phenomenon but the age-old criticism of the young against the older generations. Young people see the possessions of the older generations as something they want and have.a right to and think that its wrong that they can't have it all "now". So a system that offers ultimate sharing of all the goods of a long life of learning and accumulating becomes very attractive to the impatient mind of youth.

Yet an equal proportion see the means of gaining what the elders have and so strive for material accumulation earlier and this provides the basis for a more right side philosophy. Material gain through intelligent efforts and sacrifice to accumulate rewards and the individual, rather than the collective, effort become the guiding principle.

I've noted these thinking processes in my own life and in many of my cohort. In my youth as a labourer I voted Labs because my parents did and because of my work. I became a Lib voter when I became an insurance rep, was won over by Hawke when I had children to feed and a mortgage to pay and lost all hope in democracy during the Howard years --- realising that political parties were the death of democracy. Hence I now live with jaded cynicism and critical analysis.

I think we all look to our own needs first depending on our social relationships and what we perceive as what will serve our immediate beliefs. Beliefs change if we evolve, while some evolve more quickly than others and some never truly do, we develop our needs into our voting intentions.

These are only my own thoughts and I don't expect anyone to agree with me. Moreover I don't expect that I'm right because of my experience of realising my own errors and fallacious beliefs throughout my life. I write these down purely for the purpose of discussion. These days I'm much closer to the Menzies ideals and policies, which have become centrist due to the shifting sands of the infertile and sterilised desert that is demagogic politics today.

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"I think the above quote says it all really, and this has been consistent across generations."

hi Scott, my generation didn't complain, did yours? In fact , houses were 3 to 4 times median wages. I distinctly remember buying a home was an easy option.

Sure its important to keep the wolf from our own door but after that I've always seen political allegiance as a service to the less fortunate. To me, that is good logic and not selfless as I'm as coldly opportunistic as the next. Putting the nation and the wider community first inevitably benefits us anyway. We underestimate the value of a cohesive happier society which is the stuff of a bountiful existence. This pared down Thatcher-style society is a poor man's substitute.