-----Original Message-----
From: William S. Lear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Friday, May 01, 1998 9:12 AM
Subject: Re: David Harvey's anomie
On Wed, April 29, 1998 at 19:44:11 (-0400) Doug Henwood writes:
>I heard on Pacifica just yesterday the results of a poll which
>indicated that the things college students worry about most are
>something like 28% not getting a good job; 11% not having enough
>money; 6% were concerned about another aspect of work --- can't
>remember exactly what; and 3% were most worried about the environment.
>So, they do give a fuck. About half worried about how well they will
>do playing in the capitalist shit-pit, and 3% are worried about the
>rising tide of shit spilling all over the world. Their scatological
>sophistication is quite impressive...
What is it with the youth of today?
They just aren't as patriotic/progressive/hard-working/fill-in-the-blank as we
were at their age.
Frankly, this sort of global analysis of a generation is offensive and most of
you would have denounced your parents (and many of you did) when variations on
the same statements were made.
Attitudes reflect a culture, but degrees of personal materialism might, on a
list with a large number of economic materialists, be examined in light of
economic production.
What is fascinating and revealing is that despite all the odes to the glorious
economy and how well college-educated folks are doing (even if a few unskilled
folks may be facing a hard time), a large number of college students are quite
worried about their economic futures. With education debt burdens, this just
adds to the anxiety.
Now, while THE GRADUATE was no doubt idealized, many in the boomer generation
identified with its protagonist, awash with free time after graduation,
unencumbered by debt, open to innumerable options ("plastics"), with the freedom
to choose wild irresponsible choices in defiance of convention.
I doubt many in the Gen X and under generation would see much at all to identify
with in the movie, since the materialist base of the economy has changed quite
radically. A revealing economic figure is that back in the early 1970s, a
typical person in their early 20s made 80% of the average wage; by the early
1990s, they were making only 60% of the average wage.
There has been an increasing income stratification in society but there has also
been an increasing age stratification as well, with older workers making much
more compared to younger workers than they did a generation ago. Unionization
rates for people in their 20s is roughly 7%, almost half the national average
and almost one-third of the rate for workers in their 40s and 50s. Young people
pay much higher taxes than they did a generation ago because of increases in
social security.
So you have students graduating with large debt burdens, smaller salaries, no
protection on the job, and higher taxes compared to a generation ago.
With the lack of sympathy by folks on this list for their economic straits,
people should not be surprised that young people may occasionally lack sympathy
for other folks economic problems (as Maggie found in her classes).
--Nathan Newman
