In fact, we might say that Millennials are the leading edge canaries inside the mine located at the intersection between the evisceration of the middle class and the now-failing, consumer-driven economics of perpetual growth on this finite planet.
Katarina, one of my millennial podmates, has just sent me this piece, a very interesting and provocative analysis of the Millennial generation and their intersection with national economic policy and 20th century social and generational history. That they are “the new poor” is unarguable. That we must create the conditions under which they, and other impoverished people, need to survive in a blinkered environment increasingly hostile to their value as anything but consumers is obvious. Just as obvious, to anyone who pays attention, is the necessity for them to thrive in order for all of us to thrive. I do pay attention, and even so, this article helped me learn more. Thank you, Laura Jean Moore.
THE NEW POOR: Gentrification, Student Loans, Millennials, and the Myth of Expansion
Update, 1/8/15, and see this:
1 thought on “How do Millennials “fit in” to the current structure of society? Answer: They don’t.”
perhaps this generation will do more to change things because of their position? Guy Standing, a British economist, refers to the “New Poor” as the “precariat”. I do look for more innovation from them – more cooperative living, less obsession with individual ownership than my generation, more cooperative work instead of blaming people who fall behind (instead of systems that deliberately eliminate whole categories of people).