The Complex Reality of Intergenerational Relations in Britain
Intergenerational relations, or the lack thereof, have been a subject of intense scrutiny since the financial crisis. While it's a grim time to be in your 20s, blaming older generations entirely oversimplifies a multifaceted issue. Chopping society into smaller rivalries only serves market interests, not collective progress.
Data-Driven Insights and Lived Experiences
This topic can be addressed through data, such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies' report on intergenerational earnings mobility, which reveals nuanced findings. For instance, ethnic minorities with free school meal eligibility often achieve higher educational attainment than white peers but see no earnings advantage. The Office for Budgetary Responsibility's 2011 report starkly highlights fiscal unfairness: a newborn would contribute £68,400 net over a lifetime, while future generations face £159,700—a figure likely worsened since. The House of Lords' 2019 report "Tackling intergenerational unfairness" doesn't shy from the problem, though a 2023 Imperial College Business School study suggests more solidarity exists than the "Millennials versus Boomers" narrative implies.
However, data risks cherry-picking to fit preconceived conclusions. Lived experience offers another lens. Reflecting on family stories—from parents born in the 1920s in Ireland and South Africa to Gen Z children—shows wildly different life narratives. Cramming these into "generational differences" is a violent oversimplification.
Shifting Generational Divides
Generational divisions have evolved. Past gaps involved distinct clothes, music, food, and attitudes, with WWII defining older generations and the Berlin Wall fall shaping younger ones. Today, similarities in tastes and material expectations are greater, except around gender identity, fueling heated debates. Boomers deserve credit for progressive strides in minority rights, women's rights, and gay rights, balancing their rap sheet.
Comparisons often mismatch contexts. The 1980s were similarly grim for youth, with 13.4% unemployment versus 5.2% today, 14% mortgage rates, and Sundays devoid of open amenities. Nuclear war fears and the AIDS crisis, which decimated older gay men, added layers of hardship. Travel was harder and costlier, relying on hitchhiking—a practice now vanished due to ease and perceived danger, perhaps reflecting societal trust decline.
Marketing and Societal Fragmentation
Skepticism about generational gaps is warranted due to marketing's role. Marketers segment people by age, lifestyle, and more, as seen in Experian's Mosaic model with "18 groups and 68 types." This divide-and-market approach profits from highlighting differences over similarities, fueling unnecessary societal chopping.
Economic Inequities and Future Transfers
Despite caveats, an unfair settlement exists. The OBR report shows the old receive more state support than the young ever will, with pensions consuming 48.3% of the welfare budget. The "pay as you go" system burdens future taxpayers with debt, akin to a Ponzi scheme critique, though UK pensioners remain among Europe's poorest.
House price inflation exacerbates inequality. Median prices rose from 4.4 times income in 1999 to 7.7 times by 2024, hitting 12 times in London, making ownership a rich preserve. Quantitative easing post-2008 inflated asset prices, widening wealth gaps. While youth in the 1980s faced challenges, affordable London living has vanished.
A plot twist emerges: boomers' eventual deaths will trigger a £4tn wealth transfer, the largest ever, shifting disparity from intergenerational to intragenerational. Those inheriting property will leap ahead, creating chasms within peer groups.
Broader Injustices: Brexit and Climate
Brexit compounded unfairness, with older voters prioritizing cultural anxieties over young economic needs. If rerun today, remain would win by 8m votes due to demographic shifts. COVID-19 saw youth sacrifice socialization and education to protect the elderly, yet calls for redress are absent.
Climate change presents the most troubling divide, promising a fundamentally different planet for future generations. As Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Ministry for the Future suggests, future people have rights, but UK politics often prioritizes the past over the future.
In summary, while baby boomers didn't eat all the pies, economic realities like housing, pensions, and Brexit reveal deep generational imbalances. Acknowledging this without oversimplification is crucial for a fairer settlement.
