Do older generations owe a debt to young people?

At the beginning of the month, the British newspaper The Guardian published an article by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2010 and United Nations special envoy for global education. The text refers to the protests by young people that have been shaking the main European cities – which he calls a “youth earthquake”. In his words, “it is essential to understand the revolt that now unites a generation”. The demonstrations began in Paris, reached Rome and spread. September and October saw mobilizations in Belgium, Austria and Greece over education funding; in Germany, because of the threat of compulsory military service; in Spain and Portugal, due to the scarcity of affordable housing. In Indonesia, they focus on pollution; in Argentina, they are against economic austerity.

Intergenerational coexistence at work: the financial pressure resulting from increased life expectancy affects young and old people — Photo: Age without limits

In Serbia, the Student List of candidates for the national parliamentary elections managed not only to dislodge a government tainted by corruption, but also to win an electoral mandate. In Australia, a large student demonstration is planned for November 12, and student unions in the UK and Italy are planning a joint day of mobilization against the rising cost of education on November 20.

Brown says that today's youth rebellions have a different profile: "They erupt in a new and more dangerous global scenario, challenging authorities on issues that go far beyond education. Young people face an unemployment crisis caused by AI; they are harmed by the targeting of public spending on the elderly, as well as restricted access to education; they face a housing crisis and governments that downplay the importance of the climate emergency and intergenerational justice."

In his opinion, the youth employment crisis will worsen, with artificial intelligence as a backdrop: "Governments are trapped in a fiscal straitjacket of such proportions that they will have difficulty finding resources to meet young people's aspirations. A considerable portion of public spending is absorbed by older generations, resulting in losses for schools and universities. Young people believe that any promises that they would have a better life than their parents' generation have already been broken – and this argument is very strong."

But is it the fault of older people, especially baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964 and benefited from a social protection network that was created after World War II? It is true that the effort to rebuild the West has generated enormous opportunities for the young people of this generation, but it is time to overturn the distorted view that the boomers suffocated everyone who came after: Generation

Journalist MP Dunleavey, who writes the Financing Longer Lives column in the Stanford Longevity Center magazine, is categorical: instead of pointing out blame, the solution is to seek a new social contract with the aim of reducing the wealth gap between generations.

"The financial pressure resulting from increased life expectancy affects both sides. Today, the elderly are afraid of not being able to cover the costs of much longer lives and do not want to become a burden on their children. At the same time, young people struggle to find financial stability", he analyzes.

In the United States, baby boomers own about 51% of household wealth. In comparison, Generation X has 26% of family wealth and Millennials, 11% – and both groups try hard to save for their own old age.

Dunleavey cites James Chappel, associate professor of History at Duke University and author of the book Golden years: how americans invented and reinvented old age (in free translation, Golden years: how Americans invented and reinvented old age), who suggests a review of the current rules on aging, heritage and relations between generations. For him, the model served a time when old age was a brief final chapter, but it does not work in a society in which people reach their 80s and 90s, often with chronic conditions and significant expenses.

Your proposal: why should the premise be that someone has to fend for themselves from the age of 65 until the end of their life? Instead of isolation and “lonely resistance”, he proposes a new structured pact on work, retirement and aging, which includes mutual support, that is, protection for the elderly and a support network for younger people. It sounds like utopia, but perhaps it is exactly what we need.