Generational Theory: Mayan 2012 Edition.

May 4, 2012 11:57 AM

Can you point me to some interesting articles/books about Strauss-Howe generational theory, and how it may be affecting modern day politics/economics?

A while back (2008-ish?) I remember finding a scholarly article online that tracked the social fabric of successive generations alongside the birth, rise, decay and finally, collapse of various nation-states. (The US, former USSR & Rome were mentioned, specifically.) Basically, the article explained how the behavior and values of one generation influenced the next generation, and so forth, and implied that the characteristics of a generation 5 or 6 steps down the line essentially guaranteed the collapse of said society.

I'd like to show the article to a friend who finds this sort of thing fascinating, especially given the current generally shoddy outlook of...everything. But I can no longer find any record or mention of the original article online. Are there any books, articles or other interesting resources that might take it's place?

posted by muirne81 to Society & Culture (1 answer total)

I assume you're aware of Strauss and Howe's book, in which they make a case for their theory, The Fourth Turning. There's some material at their web site which describes the features of their theory.

I, too, would be interested in any other resources, especially any which attempted to analyze ancient Rome from this perspective.
posted by General Tonic at 12:04 PM on May 4, 2012