So, Vern and I were talking today, and he told me about a review on The Fourth Turning by Howe and Strauss posted to PrudentSquirrel.com, edited by Chris Laird. It's a book about the four generation cycle that all civilizations throughout history seem to experience. From Laird:
That book describes how any society goes through four stages of development. The first is the survivor, creator generation. The second is the children of them, they continue and boost the creativity of the first sacrifice generation. The third is a consumption driven, flaccid generation. The fourth is the loser generation destined either for war or economic collapse, they are losers because they have none of the personal discipline that the first sacrificial and creative generation had.
As we discussed the book, and the further details you can read about the cycle at PrudentSquirrel, we looked at each other for a minute, and I said: "We're the fourth generation."
Quite a sobering thought. It will be interesting to see what yesterday's stock market drops have triggered, and what will happen next.
