Reply #56: IMO it's partly a cycle, and partly a result of media corporate culture

[Armstead]

The 70's and 80's were a period of stepping back from the turmoil and excesses of the 1960's. I remember when the mantra changed from "revolutionary change" to "working within the system" which morphed into "Greed is Good."

I actually read an interesting article a while back that traced the basic differenes in generations throughout the US history. It ws based on the notion that younger generations respond to -- and react against -- conditions created by older generations at the time.

It found that there have been fairly regular patterns of idealism, turmoil, retrenchment, conservatism and eventually a return to idealism. There were different sets of overriding values among different generations that also reflected this.

For example the freewheeling attitudes of the 1920s -- crash of the bubble that those excesses created -- caused the next generation to become much more sober and serious about life. Partly in reaction against the ecesses, and partly becaue they had to deal with the real-world results in the Great Depression and WW 2. (The group known as the Greatest Generation). They became mich more serious and responsible. Then, their children (the Baby Boomers) reacted against the excessive restraints of the culture created by the Greatest Generation, which caused the excesses and Rebeliousness of the 1960's....Which eventually led to repeat of the pattern.

I dunno where that puts us now. I hope that Post Modern Nihilism is not taking the place of what should be a restoration of idealism in those patterns. There are a lot of younger people are restoring a measure of idealism, so maybe the tables are turning again. I guess time will tell on that one.