The Generation Game

The most profound change that any society goes through is the demographic transition. Anthropologists maintain it is the route to modernity.  In pre-modern societies, there were high birth rates and high mortality rates.  Any surges in population were usually reversed by epidemics and famine, since such a society lacked the means to feed the extra mouths. 

Since Thomas Malthus in late 18 century there have been improvements in food supply,living conditions,hygiene and medicine,which mean more children survive.There were other changes such as contraception,birth rates start to fall. Population readjusted and realised a form of equilibrium. They stopped "dying like flies and also stopped breeding like rabbits".

In recent years we notice there is a bouncer back in life expectancy forecasts. But austerity and fraying social care have put a damper on the quality of life and a dependency culture. But quality diet, exercise,meditation are some ways to overcome the ageing process.                 
                                                

How old can we get?

There are different ways in which a society can age.It can be that life expectancy rises. It can also happen as a big generation such as "baby boomers" occur. 

Various factors are thought to contribute to ageing. First,there is the environment. No one can "live in a bubble". So our DNA and other molecular machinery can become slowly damaged or deteriorate by harmful chemicals or radiation. Our cells do have tool kits to help fix the damage. But, eventually the devastation could become too widespread leading to mutations that cause cells to turn to tumours. 

We could also develop problems with our metabolism. As our cells produce a host of waste products as they burn the energy and as the waste collects over time,it might disrupt crucial biological process.

Finally, the body encounters problems regenerating organs and eventually cells begin to malfunction.With wear and tear we are more vulnerable to various diseases.

Thus ageing is an unstoppable force, but there are breaks to slow its process.

We see this in the bow head whale which can live for longer than two centuries,making it the oldest mammal. We are also told that corals can survive for more than 4000 years.

How to pay for old age?

We see today older people are pushing up public spending on health care and on social services and pensions. That means taxes have to go up. We see capital taxes rather than income taxes are going to meet the shortfall. 

Which taxes need to go up to pay for an ageing population? Governments sooner rather than later need to balance the books by not increasing the tax burden on the working population.                        

Old people are a resource

The elderly and the old are not just a cost,though they are also a resource. Parents,grandparents give up time and money to their children and grandchildren on an unprecedented scale, especially with the cost of education and the debt burden incurred by children through University education. 

Family changes are taking place today, with more children living or sharing their living with parents. Family changes shape the vertical linking of generations. 

Parents are also having to fund the deposit advances on Shared Living homes and even pay the mortgages for children. 

Working and social lives are increasingly segregated by age. The family usually becomes more important as the form of inter group generational contact, exchange and where they can afford it,of handing down of resources. 

Trends for the future 

Advancing social equality in the current political,social and economic climate has never been more important. Access and success in higher education,socio-economic diversity,inclusion and income inequality are all upon us.

Heirlooms are fast becoming a thing of the past. The reason being nobody wants their parents stuff any longer. Objects of art, of beauty, scraps of nostalgia for parents such as Nottingham lace,silver candlesticks from the old country, oriental rugs, and other heirlooms are no longer memorabilia for the young. 

There are underlying reasons which span the gamut of changes taking place in today's society. There are social,economic and cultural reasons, but they all boil down to the simple fact that nobody wants their parents and grandparents stuff any longer. 

Evolving tastes and challenging property markets mean that past generations' possessions don't fit into homes of the next generation, aesthetically or physically.

The world of airs and graces has passed

Besides, the world of airs and graces has faded along with their owners. Some say Britain is in the grip of a de-cluttering fad led by the Japanese tidying expert, Marie Kondo, sometimes referred as "Kondo Marie". 

Material culture has changed. Now people live alone first, then cohabit before marrying if at all. Competitive consumption,like keeping up with the "Joneses" matters. 

A new culture of affluence has taken over. Markets are fast becoming travel oriented, experiences and hopes centre on well being rather than on possessions.

Objects left by their parents have become the focus of anxiety . They remain and stay as things and physical reminders of loss at that. 

Victor Cherubim