GENERATION JONES SAW THE END OF THE BOOMER PERIOD OF PROSPERITY COME CRASHING DOWN AS THEY CAME OF AGE IN THE 70s. (AND SOME ADVICE)
(FYI: A generation is produced by the social, economic, and political events that occur during the period at which you come of age)
Generation Jones (Born 1954 to 1965, coming of age from 1972 to 1979 .. and some to the early 1980s) is the worldwide social cohort coming after (or is the latter half) of the baby boomer generation and before the first year of Generation X (1965 to 1980). The baby boomer generation longer than a generation, and is a demographic term, NOT a generational term – as we use the term generation.
The term Generation Jones was first coined by the American cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who identified the cohort as those born from 1954 to 1965 in the U.S., who were children during Watergate, the oil crisis, and stagflation rather than during the 1950s, but slightly before Gen X.
Generation Jones did not grow up with World War II veterans as fathers, and, as they reached adulthood, there was no compulsory military service and no defining political cause.
They have never lived in a world without television—similar to how many members of Generation Z (1997–2012), have never lived in a world without personal computers or the internet ,or mobile phones.
The name “Generation Jones” has several connotations, including a large anonymous generation, a “keeping up with the Joneses” competitiveness, the ‘Yuppie Generation, and the Wall Street Generation”.
They inherited an optimistic outlook as children in the 1960s (I dunno, I remember the 60s as the Vietnam war, the cold war nuclear scare, assassinations, race riots, constant left wing bombing, students advocating communism in constant protests, the downfall of our civilization, and the rise of perceivable crime in the middle class).
But yes, the beginning of end of the postwar American economic advantage had ended before Generation Jones’ coming of age, and in the 70’s we would begin offshoring because of the power of unions and the use of unions by the left to advance communism – and yes it was deliberate. Because we understood by then that all socialism and communism were failing, and that the ‘great society project’ of Lyndon Johnson’s imitation of the soviets, had been a catastrophe. (And perhaps so was the civil rights movement – a cover for marxist undermining.)
But they were then confronted with a different reality as they entered the workforce during Reaganomics and the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, which ushered in a long period of mass unemployment. (When I graduated high school, only 40% of college graduates were finding jobs. Hence why I originally chose engineering rather than philosophy or fine art).
Mortgage interest rates increased to above 12 percent in the mid-eighties, making it virtually impossible to buy a house on a single income. De-industrialization arrived in full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s; wages would be stagnant for decades, and 401Ks replaced pensions, leaving them with a certain yearning or “jonesing” quality for the more prosperous days of the past.
There was a scarcity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older Boomers. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and “jonesing” for the level of doting and affluence granted to older Boomers but denied to them.
So the Key characteristics assigned to members of Generation Jones are pessimism, distrust of government, and general cynicism. (OMG Yes. And then some. Hence the libertarian movement through 2010)
(And FWIW, I experienced just what the present generation is experiencing in the past decade, and the only difference I can see is social media, dating sites, porn, immigration, and a total failure of the education sector, destroying the social cohesion and intersexual cohesion we had in my Jones Generation.
But economically, I don’t have a lot of sympathy. Because we already went through it. And we fought and by some miracle the tech revolution saved us.
Perhaps the AI revolution will save you economically.
But socially and politically, you will need a threat of bloody revolution more intense than that the marxists used to bring about any chance of any quality of life for you and the generations that might follow you if you manage to reproduce at all.)
Cheers
CD
Reply addressees: @JamesMJohnson4 @keithinSimi