My Generation, by Justin E. H. Smith
For those growing into adulthood during most of the twentieth century, therefore, the backdrop to life was the loss of faith in coherent systems of thought and morality. Sophisticated people knew they were supposed to rebel against authority, reject old certainties, and liberate themselves from hidebound customs and prejudices. Artists rebelled aga... See more
David Brooks • The Organization Kid
Juan Orbea added
Perhaps this is why our society has been so stagnant and uncreative in some ways for the past 50 years. We chose the path of comfort, certainty, measurable progress, and indeterminate hedging of bets. In our cowardice, we turned away from the uncertain leaps of faith of collective struggle after fatal ends that would have demanded us to truly live.
Palladium • Quit Your Job
I’m not looking to rewind the clock back to a time before we all had email and cellphones. What I want is to be inspired by the last generation that made a new life-world—the postwar American abstract expressionist painters, jazz musicians, and writers and poets who created an alternate American modernism that directly challenged the ascendant Comm... See more
Alana Newhouse • Everything Is Broken
I spend a lot of time seeking out music from different countries and regions, and with each passing year the challenge of finding something distinctively local increases.
This is a tremendous loss for everybody—akin to losing a species or an entire ecosystem. I feel I’m fighting a losing battle, but I refuse to walk away from the challenge.
This is a tremendous loss for everybody—akin to losing a species or an entire ecosystem. I feel I’m fighting a losing battle, but I refuse to walk away from the challenge.
Ted Gioia • My 12 Favorite Problems
Emily Li added
In 2014 American character changed. A large and influential generation came of age in the shadow of accumulating failures by the ruling class—especially by business and foreign policy elites. This new generation had little faith in ideas that previous ones were raised on: All men are created equal. Work hard and you can be anything. Knowledge is po
... See moreGeorge Packer • Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal
When, in the 1970s, the Sex Pistols sang “There is no future,” there was at least a confrontational relish to it. Now there’s just dread.
New York Times • The Darkness Where the Future Should Be
Anna B added
The famously irreverent Boomers were the first generation of Americans born in the shadow of the new managerial society. The “New Left” counterculture of the 1960s was, in turn, the first attempt to break the shackles of bureaucracy and conformity. New Left radicals condemned the “bewildering dependence” of Americans on “inaccessible castles wherei... See more
Tanner Greer • Lessons from the 19th Century
In this frivolous new world, everything must be pleasing and inoffensive. Everything and everybody gets marketed like an exciting new product—even old, creepy politicians, or ancient film actors, or 80-year-old rock stars.
They all get repackaged and rebranded—thank the digital gods for those apps that make old stuff look new! Everything is now eas... See more
They all get repackaged and rebranded—thank the digital gods for those apps that make old stuff look new! Everything is now eas... See more