Generation Nostalgia

Children of the Noughties must toughen up for a tough future

I have often reflected upon the fact that our childhoods have left us terribly ill-equipped for the present. Not by any fault of our parents, or a particular error in our education, but because of the circumstances in which many of us grew up, particularly in the West. We, the generation of the early noughties, grew up in a world where we felt safe: apart from the 2008 financial crisis, and the years of recovery that followed, the economy was in full swing, with globalisation making everything more accessible, democratic, and cheap. Democracy had seemingly prevailed over all other systems, and seemed to be consolidating itself throughout the world; human rights felt increasingly sacred and respected; large-scale war had been eradicated; and conflicts could be ended through negotiation and cooperation. Events, tragedies, and disasters — though they did happen, and of course created much emotional turmoil — did not seem to have the power to derail the ever-progressing improvement of the world. The consensual understanding was that the future was one of peace, democracy, and prosperity. But the world has now changed, and we must adapt. 

Stefan Zweig, an Austrian Jew who grew up in late 19th-century Vienna, described his childhood in ways much like this. He grew up with the feeling that the world was calm and tranquil; that nothing could truly change, and that whatever changes could occur would not threaten the world he knew. Then came the First World War, with the dislocation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after that the rise of fascism and state antisemitism in 1930s Austria. His world was torn apart. And all the while he had grown with the certitude that nothing could threaten it. His generation didn’t understand or anticipate how rapidly their world could fall apart. 

Though the historical circumstances are evidently very different, I believe our generation, having grown up in the cosy bliss of peace, has been thrust by circumstances into a world for which it is not prepared. Economies, particularly in the West, are trembling; prosperity is threatened; inequalities are increasing; and the global economy is readjusting itself to the benefit of undemocratic countries. 

Democracy is under attack from all sides: the most fragile have been overthrown, and the strongest are being threatened by populism and authoritarianism. Respect for human rights is increasingly sacrificed at the altar of national or economic interests. War is once again present throughout the world — even on the European continent which had, until very recently, been deemed sufficiently integrated and codependent to avoid it. The world is increasingly divided. Power is increasingly held by authoritarians and nationalists. Without question, the world is changing from the post-Cold War status quo, and moving towards the unknown. 

We have a very painful readjustment process in front of us. The values which we hold so dearly will no longer be self-evident. The real risk is that our generation will not understand how precarious the future is until it is too late. We run the risk of sleepwalking into a future where democracy and freedom are no longer upheld. All around us, they are flailing — we must be ready to ensure their survival. We need to hold our leaders and ourselves to a higher standard because the stakes are much higher than they used to be. We need to be ready to fight for our lives because that is what is at stake. The new circumstances of the world require us to change profoundly: instead of stoking our internal divisions, and our politicians using these fault lines to their advantage, we need to unite behind what really matters. 

Our childhoods have left us woefully unprepared for this new age which is creeping its head over the horizon. Throughout the world, but specifically in the West, the future is going to put to the test all that we so strongly believed to be a given. We’ve exited the smooth sailing of our youth, and must be ready to defend what we want to keep. We have to toughen up because the future will be much tougher than our past.