Youth as an Engine for Generation Change

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 395.

People spend their youth in different social environments. These different social contexts accompanied by improvements in the development of a technology contribute a lot to the formation of certain values in the young people which they retain throughout their lifetime and which determine a unique character of the whole generation.

Besides social change, generational change is also determined by a particular conflict between successive generations, between “the instinct of social conservation" of a given generation and the "normal attribute of youth"— innovation.

In the 20^th century a serious attempt was made to systematical study of generations,and, for example, American sociologists William Strauss and Neil Howe identify four major generational types:

-- The Civic generation is a generation which experiences their youth in a time of major crisis, such as the Great Depression and World War II, or the American Revolution. As young adults, surrounded by unprecedented challenges, they rally around a common cause and struggle to overcome the obstacles. The most recent example is the "Greatest Generation" who were in their 20's and early 30's while the Second World War was being fought. Their values are duty, honor, courage, spiritual strength, love of family, love of country, and responsibility for one's self.

-- The Adaptive generation experiences their childhood in a time of crisis. They grow up in a frightening world in which, as children, they are fairly helpless, though when they grow up the crisis is already resolved. The most recent example is the "Silent Generation" who were children during the Second World War, and experienced young adulthood during the 1950's. The members of this generation are hardworking, loyal to their country and employer, submissive. Raised in a paternalistic environment, they were taught to respect authority, are good team players and generally don't initiate conflict in the workplace, value traditional morals, safety and security as well as conformity, commitment and consistency, they are technically challenged and are slow to change their work habits.

-- The Idealist generation is a generation which has never experienced a crisis in their younger years. They are raised in a relaxing climate after a crisis, and these children are treated more indulgently, so they become idealists. They are often caught up in different revivals, like a "consciousness revolution" in the 1960's and 1970's, and start to challenge the social ideals of their parents. The most recent example is the "Baby Boom" generation who were young adults during the 1960's and 1970's.Baby Boomers value: change (Boomers thrive for possibilities and constant change), anti rules and regulations (they don't appreciate rules for the sake of having rules and they are eager to get rid of the command and control style of their Traditionalist predecessors), competition (Boomers value peer competition and can be seen by others as being egocentric), success (this generation is committed to climbing the ladder of success), hard work (Boomers started the "workaholic" trend. The difference between Traditionalists and Boomers is that Boomers value the hard work because they view it as necessary for moving to the next level of success while Traditionalists work hard because they feel that it is the right thing to do), fight For A Cause (while they don't like problems, if you give them a cause they will fight for it).

-- The Reactive generation is a generation which also has never experienced a crisis in their younger years. But they do have to cope with increasing individualism in society and an increasingly uncertain world due to the fact that the idealistic generation which preceded them has set society adrift in its social moorings. They learn to protect themselves and become pragmatic and results-focused. The most recent example is the "Generation X" which experienced young adulthood in the 1980's and 1990's. Members of Generation X are largely in their 30's and early 40's. On the whole, they are better educated than the Baby Boomers (over 60% of Generation X attended college), individualistic(generation X came of age in an era of two-income families, rising divorce rates and a faltering economy), independent, resourceful and self-sufficient (these qualities may be ascribed to the fact that women were joining the workforce in large numbers, spawning an age of “latch-key” children). In the workplace, Generation X values freedom and responsibility. Many in this generation display a casual disdain for authority and structured work hours. They dislike being micro-managed and embrace a hands-off management philosophy.

This theory is a cyclic theory. A new social crisis in which society is reorganized around a new value system starts the cycle over again. Each generation is born during a period of about 20 or 25 years, and an entire cycle takes about 80 to 100 years to complete, with a major social crisis marking the beginning of the repetition of the cycle.

Exercise 1. Complete the charter with the names of Anglo-American generations of the XX century by the qualities you think are most characteristic of them. Some hints are given to you. Argue your choice of the qualities:

Exercise 2.Say if this classification of generations in Anlo-American culture is similar to a classification of generations in Belarus. Speak about the major social events that took place when each generation was at the stage of youth and how they influenced the formations of values.

Exercise 2.People of what generations you may meet at work now? What are their values?

Exercise 3. Characterise the qualities of the present and predict the qualities of the coming generations feeling the following chart.