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George Gilder

No Country for Old Men

My friend Alex wrote a great post on how the current UK government just doesn’t get it. And it’s not about policy per se – upon which intelligent people can disagree – but more fundamentally on how the whole socio-economic-institutional paradigm is shifting, massively, below their feet. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. And therein lies the rub. The fact that they are powerless to change this despite commanding the heights of power does not compute.

To be fair, they aren’t alone – the instincts of many (most) politicians is to try to stuff the genie back in the bottle. Just look at the surreal-if-it-wasn’t-real going ons in France as just one example. The same is true of many Fortune 1000 business leaders.

And when I look at this through a demographic prism – as I am wont to do ;) – I see a distinct pattern. I suspect that a propensity to cling to the historical norms of power and control is a cultural pathology that is particularly acute in the Baby Boom generation. This is partly a coincidence of timing – ie the power paradigm is changing on their watch – and exacerbated by their generational self-image: they are not old and reactionary, they are not “the man”. They are the vibrant transformational free-spirited children of the 60s and 70s, they are the ones that “get it”. Sixty is the new thirty right? But they worked hard to climb up the greasy pole of success, to make it to the corner office, to the top of the hierarchy. And it was bloody hard work. And they deserve to now be able to wield the levers of power as their predecessors did for generations beforehand. Besides as a more enlightened generation they would do this with even more wisdom. So it is unsurprising that they are not bloody happy to see the rules change. They are in charge. They set the rules. It’s their turn. It’s only fair.

Spot the odd one out.

Gordon Brown: 58. Peter Mandelson: 55. Michael Martin: 63. Barrack Obama: 47.

Age at start of mobile phone/internet mass adoption (1995)

Gordon Brown: 44. Peter Mandelson: 41. Michael Martin: 49. Barrack Obama: 33.

Clearly this is a generalization. Not everyone over 50, not every baby boomer is at odds with the changing world. In fact there are a fair number (many of whom we have to thank for building the technological foundations of this new age) who are leaders – in their actions and thought – in this transformation. However – and this is completely anecdotal and a personal view – I suspect that they are rarely found and disproportionately under-represented in the halls of traditional power.

It’s time for a change. But it won’t be easy. And given increasing life expectancies these guys are going to be around and healthy for another 20 or 30 years so nature isn’t going to help because we don’t have that long. The funny thing is I think if they overcame their fears and actually “let go” many of these leaders would find it incredibly liberating and empowering at the same time. Interesting times indeed.

(Call it.)

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Permalink||Comments|Filed under 'Digital Generation'
Dear Companies House, Fears fulfilled? Big corporate stupidity, part 7638
  • Something that will be interesting to watch in the next few years is the adoption of new technology by the governments of those countries whose baby boom has coincided with the rise of the Internet Generation.

    For example, Ireland's birth rate is thought to have peaked over the summer of 1980, apparently inspired by a papal visit 9 months previous. (I was born in August 1980 and a disturbing number of my school friends were called John, Paul or Carl so maybe there is some truth to it).
  • Chuck Farley
    I once took an undergrad cognitive science course with Roger Schank which was 50% cogsci and 50% career advice. One of his more startling facts: On average, people currently in their 20's and early 30's will change CAREERS three times during their lives. That's not "changing jobs," but entire careers. This is pertinent to your cultural pathology of the aging baby boomers, since in my experience, they ardently resist accepting that being a polymath is the NORMAL state, and that hyperniche'd expertise is no longer relevant, even in academia!
  • Agree wholeheartedly and don't get me started on the "surreal-if-it-wasn’t-real going ons in France" bit. Witnessed it in all its vibrant Blue, Blanc, Rouge glory last night while interacting with French Parliamentarians on the subject of free European markets in the context of uniform cross-border commerce and services.

    Regarding your suspicion "that a propensity to cling to the historical norms of power and control is a cultural pathology that is particularly acute in the Baby Boom generation", I think the real issue may be a lot more "cellular" and fundamental: Humans by nature of their existence generally choose "The Path of Least Resistance" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_of_least_resi... - most people resist change and avoid new paradigms ;)

    There are very few people who have the imagination, will and courage to grab a machete and hack a new path through the forest of life. Of course for enlightened beings such as yourself, its just a walk in the "Park"!

    @AAinlsie
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