Late June 2022, the Times published an article: How Britain became a gerontocracy. Its subtitle was: “The pensions boost is further proof that Britain is run for the benefit of the older generation — paid for by the young”. My April 2019 blog had predicted this: The future Great Divide between generations.
The cause appears to be quite simple: demographics and the ageing or greying of the population.
Nevertheless, African demographics are the reverse of Western demographics and/but the majority of young African people still does not have the power (eg, economical, political). United Nations: “Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30.”
Is a gerontocracy so obvious that it is a blind spot in our thinking?
Wikipedia: “A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. In many political structures, power within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the oldest the holders of the most power. Those holding the most power may not be in formal leadership positions, but often dominate those who are. In a simplified definition, a gerontocracy is a society where leadership is reserved for elders.”
Collective pension schemes are usually based on an underlying, implicit and silent actuarial assumption that populations will grow. Once that assumption is no longer valid. the inherent wealth redistribution from young to old people becomes visible.
There is more though: collective pension schemes favour pensioners or retirees at the expense of the working pension premium contributors. This is a deliberate choice because today’s wealth was created by these pensioners. Hence, they should be prioritized, which is a philosophical belief (system).
In the words of the 1985 Starship song (below): we built this city. Hence, retirees feel that they have a right or are entitled to the wealth they created. In that view, it’s the duty of the working people to contribute to their rights. This view is inherent to the social fabric of any society, including ancient tribes.
If so, then why has gerontocracy become a sudden popular term?
A cynical view is that seniors are voters while juniors are hardly. Politics lies at the heart of the Power domain of the 7 Belief systems (eg, 2015 original). It’s in the interest of (often senior) politicians to please these voting seniors while ignoring those non-voting juniors. This phenomenon may never ever change.
We Built This City (1985) by Starship
band, lyrics, video, Wiki-band, Wiki-song
[Chorus]
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
Built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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