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Mysterious_Attempt22 t1_iydsk57 wrote

Reply to comment by mothermucca in As a non-American, reading On The Road, felt like a snapshot of postwar youthful Boomer mentality. by [deleted]

They created the economic framework of neoliberalism, which destroyed the very service and technical jobs they got rich on, while simultaneously unchaining basic prices of healthcare and education which have inflated to disgusting levels. Doing this they cheated their children and children's children of stable incomes, healthcare access, and any kind of secure future.

There's quite a bit to be dissatisfied about when it comes to the Reagan/Thatcher generation and their after effects.

EDIT: We've been so ideologically lobotomised by this generation, that we can no longer imagine meaningful economic intervention in society. Like the fool who thinks "we'd be infinitely worse off" if we actually... I don't know... DID something about billionaires causing people to spend their entire lives in debt slavery because they want an education or because they need to see a doctor. (this is the comment I got with the facepalm award - thank you for highlighting the incredible narrowmindedness of neoliberal policy).

It's disgusting.

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mothermucca t1_iydwbi3 wrote

You know that Reagan/Thatcher and that generation weren’t boomers, right?

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T_ja t1_iydxuzh wrote

No but who do you think was voting for them?

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27183 t1_iyf738q wrote

I would assume mostly pre-boomers, at least early on in that period. When Reagan was elected, the youngest boomers weren't old enough to vote. And most of the rest were in the age range that everyone complains has had low turnout in elections for several generations at least. Boomers certainly had a big impact on elections by the '90s, but I don't think they were dominant during the Reagan era in the US.

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ithsoc t1_iye4ti4 wrote

Since we're in the book sub, A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey is an excellent and relatively short read on this subject.

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