Do Generations Repeat Themselves?

by Madeleine Kando

We don't need experts to tell us which generation we belong to in the familial sense. We know it when we look in the mirror. We all go through the same stages of life: childhood, young adulthood, midlife, old age and for the lucky few, late old age.

Before the 19th century, when people looked at the world as a fairly static place, even the social meaning of  a generations simply meant 'all men (and women) living more or less at the same time' (Emile Litré). One batch of living beings was replaced by another when they died, like water flowing through a river. In that sense, my 101 year old mother, my daughter, my 3 year old grandson and I are considered one generation.

But when society began to be viewed as progressing, not just in time but also qualitatively, experts began to look at generations as groups of individuals born during a certain period, whose character was influenced by the historical events of their time. It became a tool to form a collective identity. Now we are not only subdivided by age, but by our experiences and we are assigned certain characteristics. If you are part of the 'Greatest Generation', you are 'a conservative saver, hard-working, with a high sense of moral obligation, patriotism and respect for authority'. If you are a baby boomer, you are 'experimental, individualistic, free spirited and social cause oriented'. Even the newest cohort, still in their diapers, has already been labeled. The Homeland or Alpha generation will be 'the most formally educated, most materialistic and technology-focused.'

Some historians believe that history is cyclical and that this explains the rise and fall of civilizations. Civilizations have their peak, decline and then die, comparable to the seasons in nature. Major wars seem to happen every 80 year or so, followed by a period of reconstruction and stability, then a period of high decadence and excess and finally a disintegration and decay which leads to the next war, and so on.

If one believes that history is cyclic, it automatically follows that generations must be cyclic too, since they are influenced by historical events. In their book 'The Fourth Turning', authors Strauss and Howe describe four historical 'turnings', which repeat themselves, one turning spawning the next. They call these turnings, the 'high', the 'awakening', the 'unraveling', and finally the 'crisis'. They shape four generational archetypes, depending at what stage of one's life these 'turnings' are experienced, which they call the 'prophet', the 'nomad', the 'hero' and the 'artist'.

turnings	prophet	nomad	hero	artist	events	generations
crisis	elderhood	midlife	young adult	childhood	Great Depression/WWII	Silent Generation (1925-1942)
high	childhood	elderhood	midlife	young adult	Postwar Boom	Baby Boom Gen (1943-1960)
awakening	young adult	childhood	elderhood	midlife	Consciousness Revolution	Generation X (1961-1981)
unraveling	midlife	young adult	childhood	elderhood	Reagan Revolution/Culture Wars (	Millennial Generation 1982-2006)
crisis	elderhood	midlife	young adult	childhood	Next Crisis (Fourth Turning): ?	Alpha Generation (2008-?)

According to this theory, I am a 'prophet', since I was born during a 'high' (postwar boom), grew up during an 'awakening' (the 60's), spent my midlife years during an 'unraveling' (the Reagan years) and am now experiencing a period of 'crisis' (terrorism, financial crisis, etc.).**

In other words, if we could travel back in time and see the world through the eyes of our great grandparents, or better yet, zoom into the future and have a peek through the eyes of our great grandchildren, the world would look the same every 80 years or so.

So, are we just puppets on a string, fulfilling a historical role? There is something comforting in the thought that all you need is patience and things will repeat themselves. On the other hand, there is little room for improvement in this scenario. But at a time when things seem to be falling apart faster than a bookcase from IKEA, being told that humanity will still be around when our great grandchildren grow up, is reassuring. Forget about improvement. Besides, for people who have done most of their living already, knowing that future generations will use them as a mold might make them feel less dispensable.

Predicting the future is something that many of us wish we could do. That is why horoscopes and psychics are in such demand. And, as we see, even serious scientists now are trying their hand at it. Would Millennials, who are known to be 'idealisitc, educated and eager to change the world for the better' be happy with such a deterministic view of their generation?

I will leave it up to future generations to figure that out. Although I wouldn't mind coming back, 80 years from now and have a peek to see if Strauss and Howe were right in their prediction. Either way, having satisfied my curiosity and knowing that it's out of my hands anyway, I would then quietly return to the cemetery and fall back to sleep, safe and secure in my tomb.  leave comment here

** Prophets are  characterized as 'growing up as increasingly indulged children of a post crisis era, come of age as self-absorbed, young crusaders of an awakening, focus on morals and principles in midlife, and emerge as elders guiding another crisis.'