A couple of weeks ago I did some psychohistorical reflecting about the next decade, and decided it should be called the Searing Twenties. The mood and energy I’m sensing is a darker, rougher version of the Roaring Twenties a century ago.https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1205735286761615360 …
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But the institutions won’t be like post-WW2 ones, built by the stridently confident victors of a world war working with a bombed-blank slate and booming economy. They’ll have some of the searching, exploratory, experimental qualities of Lost Gen art. Starships, not Citadels.
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Zoomers are analogous to the Silent Generation: grew up in a traumatized decade (Great Depression vs Great Weirding) so will form the new Organization Man type within Millennial institutions. Premium mediocre starships on the outside, domestic cozy communes on the inside.
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Okay, changing this call based on Rob’s points. To the extent Zoomers rhyme with Silents they’ll be progressive reformers rather than conformists within Millennial institutions. Domestic cozy Firefly rebel ships rather than starship interiors. https://twitter.com/robsalk/status/1211098235365814273?s=21 …https://twitter.com/robsalk/status/1211098235365814273 …
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Moving on. “Roaring” is unambiguously positive valence despite hidden troubles. Is the valence of “Searing” as the anchor adjective positive or negative. It is ambiguous tending negative. High energy but not positive. Think climate change as core narrative motif.
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Overall gestalt (no specific predictions yet): high, tumultuous, damaging energy, prone to both conflict and creation. There will be burn victims and famous fire fighters. Devastated landscapes (real and allegorical) and new growth amid the ashes.
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I’ll possibly turn this into a blogchain, but this thread is by way of being a set of prolegomena. Initial RFC open as I tune the Prime Radiant on this thing. The name of the decade is not up for negotiation, we’re playing for the Big Meme here
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The 1920s actually started with a short, sharp depression and ended with the big one. Should we expect a repeat? https://twitter.com/illiteralworst/status/1211106290274988033?s=21 …https://twitter.com/illiteralworst/status/1211106290274988033 …
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For different reasons, I think we can expect a crash in the next couple of years. India has already crashed (GDP but not stocks). China is jittery. The US and EU could go either way depending on politics. A decade out, I don’t know. I’m not incl9ned to call a decade long boom.
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The analogous 1947-57 era was actually a pretty rough ride for American society. McCarthyism is the closest we've come to fascism until now. The racial climate then was no better. Expressionists, modernists, bebop jazz musicians etc were influential but not popular.
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Postwar, in their 30s-40s, the Veteran generation went along to get along. We didn't really see positive change till the Silents matured in the late 50s, giving us Civil Rights, early feminism, and the kick in the ass that the WW2 Gen needed to make real progress.
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