# The laziest generation



## 2011 Again (Jan 29, 2015)

As someone born in 95, I'm qualified to say that my generation and the new generation are both the absolute laziest, mindless, disrespectful and entitled bunch of them all. We're the most educated we've ever been and have access to so much information at the tip of our fingers yet we choose to be degenerates who think everything should be a fucking hand out.

The things we play victim over damn well knowing the past generations had to bust their asses to fight injustices and shit is just sickening. This politically correct, don't want to offend anyone and overly paranoid attitude is just disgraceful. Grow up, wake up, BE UP.


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## hidden (Nov 28, 2015)

Strauss-Howe generational theory Generations by year of birth

Generational archetypes and turnings[edit] Generations by year of birth


Arthurian Generation (1433-1460) *(H)*
Humanist Generation (1461-1482) *(A)*
Reformation Generation (1483-1511) *(P)*
Reprisal Generation (1512-1540) *(N)*
Elizabethan Generation (1541-1565) *(H)*
Parliamentary Generation (1566-1587) *(A)*
Puritan Generation (1588-1617) *(P)*
Cavalier Generation (1618-1647) *(N)*
Glorious Generation (1648-1673) *(H)*
Enlightenment Generation (1674-1700) *(A)*
Awakening Generation (1701-1723) *(P)*
Liberty Generation (1724-1741) *(N)*
Republican Generation (1742-1766) *(H)*
Compromise Generation (1767-1791) *(A)*
Transcendental Generation (1792-1821) *(P)*
Gilded Generation (1822-1842) *(N)*
Progressive Generation (1843-1859) *(A)*
Missionary Generation (1860-1882) *(P)*
Lost Generation (1883-1900) *(N)*
G.I. Generation (1901-1924) *(H)*
Silent Generation (1925-1942) *(A)*
Baby Boom Generation (1943-1960) *(P)*
Generation X (1961-1981) *(N)*
Millennial Generation (1982-2004) *(H)*
Homeland Generation (2005-present)[18] *(A)*

Turnings[edit]

While writing _Generations_, Strauss and Howe discovered a pattern in the historical generations they examined which revolved around generational events which they call turnings. In _Generations_, and in greater detail in _The Fourth Turning_, they identify the four-stage cycle of social or mood eras (i.e. turnings).

High[edit]

According to Strauss and Howe, the First Turning is a _*High*_. This is a post-Crisis era when institutions are strong and individualism is weak. Society is confident about where it wants to go collectively, though those outside the majoritarian center often feel stifled by the conformity.[19]

According to the authors, America's most recent First Turning was the post-World War II American High, beginning in 1946 and ending with the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.[20]

Awakening[edit]

According to the theory, the Second Turning is an _*Awakening*_. This is an era when institutions are attacked in the name of personal and spiritual autonomy. Just when society is reaching its high tide of public progress, people suddenly tire of social discipline and want to recapture a sense of self-awareness, spirituality and personal authenticity. Young activists look back at the previous High as an era of cultural and spiritual poverty.[21]

Strauss & Howe say America's most recent Awakening was the "Consciousness Revolution," which spanned from the campus and inner-city revolts of the mid-1960s to the tax revolts of the early 1980s.[22]

Unraveling[edit]

According to Strauss and Howe, the Third Turning is an _*Unraveling*_. The mood of this era is in many ways the opposite of a High: Institutions are weak and distrusted, while individualism is strong and flourishing. Highs come after Crises, when society wants to coalesce and build. Unravelings come after Awakenings, when society wants to atomize and enjoy.[23] They declare that America's most recent Unraveling was the Long Boom and Culture War, beginning in the 1980s and ending in the late 2000s.

Crisis[edit]

According to the authors, the Fourth Turning is a _*Crisis*_. This is an era in which institutional life is destroyed and rebuilt in response to a perceived threat to the nation's survival. Civic authority revives, cultural expression redirects towards community purpose, and people begin to locate themselves as members of a larger group.[24] America's most recent completed Fourth Turning began with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and climaxed with the end of World War II. The G.I. Generation (a Hero archetype, born 1901 to 1924) came of age during this era. Their confidence, optimism, and collective outlook epitomized the mood of the era.[25] According to the authors, the Millennial Generation (Hero archetype, born 1982 to 2004), show many traits similar to those of the G.I. youth, including rising civic engagement, improving behavior, and collective confidence.[26]

Cycle[edit]

Each turning lasts about 20-22 years. Four turnings comprise a full cycle of approximately 80 to 90 years,[27] which the authors term a _saeculum_, after the Latin word meaning both "a long human life" and "a natural century."[28]

Generational change drives the cycle of turnings and determines its periodicity. As each generation ages into the next life phase (and a new social role) society's mood and behavior fundamentally changes, giving rise to a new turning. Therefore, a symbiotic relationship exists between historical events and generational personas. Historical events shape generations in childhood and young adulthood; then, as parents and leaders in midlife and old age, generations in turn shape history.[29]

Each of the four turnings has a distinct mood that recurs every saeculum. Strauss and Howe describe these turnings as the "seasons of history." At one extreme is the Awakening, which is analogous to summer, and at the other extreme is the Crisis, which is analogous to winter. The turnings in between are transitional seasons, similar to fall and spring.[30] Strauss and Howe have identified 26 turnings over 7 saecula in Anglo-American history, from the year 1435 through today.

At the heart of Strauss & Howe's ideas is a basic alternation between two different types of eras, Crises and Awakenings. Both of these are defining eras in which people observe that historic events are radically altering their social environment.[31] Crises are periods marked by major secular upheaval, when society focuses on reorganizing the outer world of institutions and public behavior (the last American Crisis was the period spanning the Great Depression and World War II). Awakenings are periods marked by cultural or religious renewal, when society focuses on changing the inner world of values and private behavior (the last American Awakening was the "Consciousness Revolution" of the 1960s and 1970s).[32] During Crises, great peril provokes a societal consensus, an ethic of personal sacrifice, and strong institutional order. During Awakenings, an ethic of individualism emerges, and the institutional order is attacked by new social ideals and spiritual agendas.[33] According to the authors, about every eighty to ninety years-the length of a long human life-a national Crisis occurs in American society. Roughly halfway to the next Crisis, a cultural Awakening occurs (historically, these have often been called Great Awakenings).[32]

In describing this cycle of Crises and Awakenings, Strauss and Howe draw from the work of other historians and social scientists who have identified long cycles in American and European history. The Strauss-Howe cycle of Crises corresponds with long cycles of war identified by such scholars as Arnold J. Toynbee, Quincy Wright, and L.L. Ferrar Jr., and with geopolitical cycles identified by William R. Thompson and George Modelski.[34] Strauss and Howe say their cycle of Awakenings corresponds with Anthony Wallace's definitive work on revitalization movements,[35] Strauss and Howe also say recurring Crises and Awakenings correspond with two-stroke cycles in politics (Walter Dean Burnham, Arthur Schlesinger Sr. and Jr.), foreign affairs (Frank L. Klingberg), and the economy (Nikolai Kondratieff) as well as with long-term oscillations in crime and substance abuse.[36]

Archetypes[edit]

The two different types of eras and two formative age locations associated with them (childhood and young adulthood) produce four generational _archetypes_ that repeat sequentially, in rhythm with the cycle of Crises and Awakenings. In _Generations_, Strauss and Howe refer to these four archetypes as _Idealist, Reactive, Civic,_ and _Adaptive_.[37] In _The Fourth Turning_ (1997) they update this terminology to _Prophet, Nomad, Hero,_ and _Artist_.[38] The generations in each archetype not only share a similar age-location in history, they also share some basic attitudes towards family, risk, culture and values, and civic engagement. In essence, generations shaped by similar early-life experiences develop similar collective personas and follow similar life-trajectories.[39] To date, Strauss and Howe have identified 25 generations in Anglo-American history, each with a corresponding archetype. The authors describe the archetypes as follows:

Prophet[edit]

_*Prophet*_ generations are born _near the end of a Crisis_, during a time of rejuvenated community life and consensus around a new societal order. Prophets grow up as the increasingly indulged children of this 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.[40]

Nomad[edit]

_*Nomad*_ generations are born _during an Awakening_, a time of social ideals and spiritual agendas, when young adults are passionately attacking the established institutional order. Nomads grow up as under-protected children during this Awakening, come of age as alienated, post-Awakening adults, become pragmatic midlife leaders during a Crisis, and age into resilient post-Crisis elders.[40]

Hero[edit]

_*Hero*_ generations are born _after an Awakening_, _during an Unraveling_, a time of individual pragmatism, self-reliance, and laissez faire. Heroes grow up as increasingly protected post-Awakening children, come of age as team-oriented young optimists during a Crisis, emerge as energetic, overly-confident midlifers, and age into politically powerful elders attacked by another Awakening.[40]

Artist[edit]

_*Artist*_ generations are born _after an Unraveling,_ _during a Crisis_, a time when great dangers cut down social and political complexity in favor of public consensus, aggressive institutions, and an ethic of personal sacrifice. Artists grow up overprotected by adults preoccupied with the Crisis, come of age as the socialized and conformist young adults of a post-Crisis world, break out as process-oriented midlife leaders during an Awakening, and age into thoughtful post-Awakening elders.[40]


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## Xerei (Feb 17, 2010)

Seems to differ in countries. Where I live the early 90s kids are hardworking, troubled guys. The late 90s are spoiled, egotistical brats


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## Chicane (Oct 8, 2015)

BODYLOAD said:


> Missionary Generation (1860-1882) *(P)*


By far my favorite generation.

But seriously, I think if people deem millennials or later generations to be lazy and entitled it's because of poor parenting. Somewhere in the 80s-90s it became the norm to baby your kids, spoil them endlessly, and not want to allow them to endure hardships or make their own mistakes. So I think it's this, coupled with the rise of social media and youtube, where everyone thinks they're deep and that every bit of minutia in their lives is important and needs to be documented. And I never understood the slacktivism thing either, where people think anything they do from behind their computers matters even remotely. And yeah, don't get me started on political correctness. It's the biggest enemy of free speech, and once you lose that, you have nothing as a society. So I would urge everyone to think before they get offended and start running their mouths.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

I think we're definitely the most self-critical generation. It seems like millenials are always talking about how much our generation sucks or how things used to be so much better. I really hate it to be honest. And when you think about it, I'm proving my point right now, since I'm criticizing our generation in this very post.


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## thy (Oct 7, 2015)

In Praise of Idleness

https://libcom.org/files/Bertrand%20Russell%20-%20In%20Praise%20of%20Idleness.pdf


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

No respect, no work ethics, no morals....

Everything is handed to them....

Im not jealous...I actually fear for them when they have to fend for themselves in the future when mommy or daddy isnt around to foot the bill for everything and cook and clean etc etc....


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

I don't think the US Marine Corps is failing to meet recruitment goals and most of the new recruits are 17-21 years of age. You can go to you tube and watch US military actions in Afghanistan and rate your generation thereafter. Don't judge your generation based on yourself. lol


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2016)

Is anyone really qualified to assess the work ethic of this generation compared to others if they haven't studied the topic extensively or aren't over 2000 years old? Maybe Strauss-Howe..



> "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."
> ― Socrates


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## hidden (Nov 28, 2015)

Selig said:


> Is anyone really qualified to assess the work ethic of this generation compared to others if they haven't studied the topic extensively or aren't over 2000 years old? Maybe Strauss-Howe..


Over 2000 years is probably hard to assess to a certain extent; it might equivalent to finding reliable temperature measurements from that time.

Sadly, Strauss died about 10 years ago.

But Howe is still writing. He continues to work on the subject.


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## hidden (Nov 28, 2015)

Chicane said:


> Missionary Generation
> 
> By far my favorite generation.
> 
> But seriously, I think if people deem millennials or later generations to be lazy and entitled it's because of poor parenting. Somewhere in the 80s-90s it became the norm to baby your kids, spoil them endlessly, and not want to allow them to endure hardships or make their own mistakes. So I think it's this, coupled with the rise of social media and youtube, where everyone thinks they're deep and that every bit of minutia in their lives is important and needs to be documented. And I never understood the slacktivism thing either, where people think anything they do from behind their computers matters even remotely. And yeah, don't get me started on political correctness. It's the biggest enemy of free speech, and once you lose that, you have nothing as a society. So I would urge everyone to think before they get offended and start running their mouths.


Interesting that you like this period. Not for any special reason. But I believe this was during the Victorian Age, where people were very Apollonian (especially in terms of sex, or outward expression of sex).


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## dope (Aug 31, 2016)

I fucking know, right? The new generation is just fucking stupid.


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## RedSky (Jan 11, 2017)

I was born in 89 and I am extremely lazy, however when it is time to get to work I don't joke around and won't stop till the job is done. I do though have great manners and morals and am polite to everyone I meet (even if they are rude) I have even gotten promotions before just because I am super polite, honest, and loyal ( I was loyal to every crappy job I have ever had) I always showed up and I always did what was asked of me. I work at a high school now and holy cow are kids rude... and damn do they think they know everything. A lot of the parents of these kinds of kids are morons too and will back the kids up even if they are wrong... I don't know the whole world is crazy these days. :roll:


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