Ep. 167: The Attractive Anti-Politics of 'Gerontocracy' Discourse
Added 2022-09-21 14:18:50 +0000 UTC"Why Are We Still Governed by Baby Boomers and the Remarkably Old?," inquires The New York Times. "Why Do Such Elderly People Run America?," The Atlantic wonders. "Gerontocracy Is Hurting Democracy," insists New York Magazine’s Intelligencer. "Too old to run again? Biden faces questions about his age as crises mount," The Guardian reports.
Though these headlines are framed as exploratory questions, news media seem to have their minds made up: the problem with Washington is that it’s chock full of geezers. In recent years, we’ve often heard that U.S. policymaking, helmed at the federal level by seventy- and eighty-somethings like Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi, and at the state level by the similarly aged Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Grassley and Pat Leahy, is simply growing too old and out of touch with the electorate.
There’s some credence to this, of course. It’s certainly true that those occupying the most powerful positions in U.S. government, on the whole, don’t legislate to the needs of the public – whether on healthcare, policing, education – the list goes on and on. But is that really because of legislators' age? Why does age have to be the focus in this analysis, rather than policy positions and, relatedly, class interests, which exist independent of age? Who does it serve to reduce the causes of U.S. austerity politics and violence to pat, Pepsi marketing-style "generation gap" discourse?
On this episode show, we detail how "generations" analysis is ineffectual and, more often than not, misses the mark. We'll discuss how fears of a "gerontocracy" can – if not in intent, in effect – malign old age itself, stigmatize the elderly and, above all, distract from what could be a substantive critical analysis of real, more profound vectors of oppression such as class, racism, sexism and anti-LGBTQ currents.
Our guest in Winslow Erik Wright.
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Guest
Winslow Erik Wright (@WinsErikWright) is an activist and writer covering disability rights, the struggle for authenticity under capitalism, and participatory democracy.
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Show Notes
No, Elon Musk, America isn't a "gerontocracy": The real issue is massive wealth inequality
Winslow Erik Wright | June 18, 2022 | Salon
Discussions of Biden’s Age Are a Distraction From the Actual Problem
Adam Johnson | July 12, 2022 | The Column
UNC School of Medicine | May 27, 2022
'A Gift to McConnell': Biden HHS Won't Reverse Medicare Premium Hike This Year
Jake Johnson | June 1, 2022 | Common Dream
Biden's health care plan abandons older Americans
Mark Weisbrot | March 13, 2020 | The Detroit New
Wealth of Congress: Richer Than Ever, but Mostly at the Very Top
David Hawkings | February 27, 2018 | Roll Call
Why Are We Still Governed by Baby Boomers and the Remarkably Old?
Yuval Levin | June 3, 2022 | The New York Times
This Political Analyst Has It All Wrong: Age Is Not The Reason For America’s Political Disrepair
Sheila Callaham | June 13, 2022 | Forbes
The Democratic party needs new, younger leadership before it’s too late
Cas Mudde | May 13, 2022 | The Guardian
John L. Dorman | March 26, 2022 | Insider
Gerontocracy Is Hurting Democracy
Eve Peyser | March 15, 2021 | New York Magazine Intelligencer
Dianne Feinstein’s Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrat
Jane Mayer | December 9, 2020 | The New Yorker
Can you be too old to be president?
Nick Burns | October 28, 2020 | The New Statesman
There Are Two Americas, and Age Is the Divider
Sarah Kuta | June 9, 2020 | Chicago Booth Review
Why Do Such Elderly People Run America?
Derek Thompson | March 5, 2020 | The Atlantic
Joe Biden Has Advocated Cutting Social Security for 40 Years
Ryan Grim | January 13, 2020 | The Intercept
Timothy Noah | September 3, 2019 | Politico Magazine
We have a political problem no one wants to talk about: very old politicians
Harold Pollack | August 7, 2017 | Vox
Is Donald Trump Too Old to Be President?
Michael Tortorello | February 28, 2016 | Politico Magazine
The politics of American generations: How age affects attitudes and voting behavior
Drew Desilver | July 9, 2014 | Pew Research Center
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, go here.
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Credits
Senior Producer: Florence Barrau-Adams
Producer: Julianne Tveten
Production Assistant: Trendel Lightburn
Newsletter: Marco Cartolano
Transcription: Morgan McAslan
Music: Grandaddy
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Comments
Awesome episode! I looked at the election results in the recent Swedish election, where the far right party became the second largest party and will take part in forming the government. The age bracket where the far right had the most support is 18-21 year olds (65+ voters overwhelmingly voted for the social democrats, and if Sweden raised its voting age to 65, there would be a center left government). So maybe a gerontocracy would actually be good. https://www.svt.se/datajournalistik/valu2022/valjargrupper/
Thomas
2022-09-29 12:52:30 +0000 UTCSorry there was a line "they're not even all the way left". For me their ideology is less of a problem than their refusal to use their leverage and vote as a bloc to hold things up to gain progressive concessions.
Cclear
2022-09-25 20:35:00 +0000 UTCGreat episode but can there be at least a caveat about AOC and the squad, that they have not been what the Justice Democrats were supposed to be, a tea party of the left? That they have not voted as a bloc and used their leverage to gain concessions in the same way Manchin and Sinema have? That they've voted for Israel, military and Capital Hill police funding? That AOC cried on the floor of the house and allowed herself to be intimidated by Pelosi and never revealed what was told to her? At the very least it's a false binary to say "establishment dems bad, squad good".
Cclear
2022-09-25 20:22:26 +0000 UTCi agree 100%, i believe they've touched on that before too, i think this is just approaching the topic from another angle that is also true
natfos 💌
2022-09-25 14:43:20 +0000 UTCCame here to say this. Incredible line
2022-09-23 22:09:57 +0000 UTCALAB did a great episode about how the bench is aging, and how most of the younger judges are being appointed by right wing lunatics.
Evan Pitkin
2022-09-22 21:04:43 +0000 UTCOld judges and politicians are a legit problem. And personally I don't like being governed by a class of people who will be dead and buried before the most extreme effects of climate change are upon us.
Evan Pitkin
2022-09-22 21:02:55 +0000 UTC“The US Capitol wasn’t stormed for the early bird special” 💯 🔥 summed this whole episode up in this offhand comment lol
Evan Hiltunen
2022-09-22 16:03:21 +0000 UTC
