I think this is probably the most likely result. Growing up in Canada with all the constitutional stuff left me pretty much in the camp of let's just forget about it. The most active groups were Western reform movements which were calling for a complete overhaul of the status quo. (it was pie in the sky stuff that fitted my younger ideals quite well)
I will say, unlike others, I have tilted more left because of my kids. Going through their culture wars dealing with different issues around sexual orientation, and having not had a lot of money for much of their youth, and living hand to mouth, I have definitely have changed my world view on a lot of ideas.
But that is likely an outlier, most of my classmates from small town rural Alberta have grown up very much on the right and very much in the UCP camp.
I grew up mostly in Calgary's southern suburbs, arguably the epicentre of Canadian conservative politics, and readily admit a blue tinged point of view. Many of the current movers and shakers in Canadian conservative politics were my neighbors and classmates.
This article definately rings true about the legacy of Gen X coming of age during the era of Regan and Thatcher. It was a time of upward mobility, both real and imagined, and backlash against the dark side of 60's and 70's social changes (ex. high divorce rate). Hippies were the target of ridicule, not only for their sense of style but also their lack of ambition. The clean-cut preppy look reigned supreme.
The impact of the party ending in the early 90's was perhaps even more profound. Eloquently expressed by Fight Club's Tyler Durdern, "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off". Unlike the Millennials, Gen X seemed more inclined to wallow in despair (ex. Grunge) or double down on Neoliberalism. The Canadian experience was slightly different as the economic downturn lasted far longer than in the US and the country was consumed by constitutional debates. That seems to have left the Canadian Gen X a touch more cynical than their American counterparts.
As a Gen-X male my politics were shaped early on by my lefty Boomer parents who were very much pro-union and pro-socialism. I wasn't crazy about the Hippie lifestyle they flirted with in their '20s and found my own culture in the '90s, riding the alt rock music wave that was prevalent back then. What I took from it was the resistance to selling out and how so many bands I like were determined to succeed on their own terms. Some did, many did not, but I respected the effort.
The thing that really cemented my political beliefs was MANUFACTURING CONSENT, the documentary about political activist and American media critic Noam Chomsky. I found it to be a fascinating look Chomsky and his ideas. It also made me want to check out some of his work and sparked a desire to wake up and realize what was going on in our society. That, coupled with my parents' political leanings, really shaped and continue to shape my political beliefs solidly to the left.
No of course not. These are general trends and tendencies -- not individual character traits. In fact one thing I should have noted more clearly in the body of the text is that Canadian Gen X women are overwhelmingly intending to vote Liberal -- it's the men who are in favour of the CPC.
Boomers responded to the excesses of the right. Too much emphasis following silly rules, silly standards that were unnecessary. Do what you're tpld and don't speak back. The Gen Xers are likewise responding to the excesses of the left. What is a woman? DEI. Obesity as acceptable....
In 1984 I was 20 years old. I spent half at your hitchhiking around Canada. At the end of that trip I hitchhiked from Vancouver to my home in Cape Breton in 6 days! My motivation was that I wanted to vote in the federal election. I got home before dawn on election day so that I could vote for Brian Mulroney. Now, at 60, I'm so far to the left that I feel there is no party for me in Canada.
Grew up in Conservative stronghold of AB, and saw what that did to the people I cared about, and now live in SK, and I decided not to be like that. I will not ever lean right. To me it would be like giving in and becoming like everyone else. To me it would indeed be selling out. But you are correct in that many of my generation do in fact lean right, and every single time, I'm like HOW? How are you still doing this?
I also grew up in a very conservative community. I’ve only once voted Liberal in a federal election and that was Jean Cretien’s term. He was a good PM. While I’m accepting of progression (even as a conservative), the Liberal party has moved so far left so fast under our current PM, I simply can’t support their policies and I’m fearful of where this country is headed.
Sad about Evan Wright. I imagine that kind of work takes its toll and holds for war reporters in general. That Generation Kill series is some of the best TV I’ve ever watched.
Yeah it really bums me out. I've watch the show probably a dozen times, and read the book twice. I'm going to write a longer piece on GK at some point.
This does not in any way reflect the GenXers I personally know. But what I do see is we in my particular peer group are more nuanced thinkers than our parents or kids. And many of us are therefore politically homeless in a political epoch that gets juiced on polarized algorithms. And some who were previously left-identified have to vote for their least worst preference. And in what alternate universe are Boomers ‘left’ by definition? That describes almost none of that generation in my region of Canada.
Why is it that followers of the writings of Marx and his modern-day expositors are "progressive," while followers of the writings of Adam Smith, Hayek, and Friedman are "reactionary"? I rather prefer the label "rational" for the latter followers, and "nuts" for the former.
When, in 2015, the youth voted en masse for Justin Trudeau, were they not being "reactionary" against Harper? If not, the label has no meaning in politics except to signal one's stance. Why not be honest and overt about it?
Aren't the radical environmentalists and global warming alarmists really the most conservative and "reactionary" political actors in contemporary society? Hippies and their spawn are the most reactionary of all. Marx was a reactionary - he wanted to remake society completely, from the ground up.
I wrestled with this one, as I'm not conservative. I guess you could say I was reactionary towards this post... heh heh. Because I'm very middle-of-the-spectrum, with a clear lean towards Liberals and some general sympathy for the NDP... because most Canadian conservative parties have moved so far rightward in the recent decade or so. And, to your point... or to the flip side of it... because when I grew up, Mulroney was PM and despised in my neck of the woods. So, my feelings associated with that time period will always make it tough for me to vote for a Conservative.
Was GenX really more left back in the 90s? I'm not sure. The music and films and protest movements of our time were, but that doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the generation was.
I think we have to be careful about making too general, broad brush of claims here, and I know you are careful on that front. I looked at your hyperlinks and recent polls by other polling firms (like this big generational study (https://www.pollara.com/a-deep-dive-into-generational-differences/ which has vote intent and economic situation and top issues). Yes, GenX in Canada is more Conservative, but (1) it's not by a huge amount and (2) it could be momentary and not something that has been or will be a fixture of this generation. We live in an angry inflationary age when incumbents are not popular, and that is especially true of the federal Liberals. So, the government in waiting Conservatives are benefitting from that federally.
Not sure where I'm going with this. I was surprised by your post, and disappointed that GenX is somewhat more conservative in terms of current voting patterns. But I can't argue against it. There are a few points that put caveats on your overall argument above, but that's it. I share them in the spirit of contributing to your thought processes on this whole topic, because I hope and kinda assume that this substack may translate into a book one day. A book I'd eagerly buy and read, and buy for others too.
I added this to the bottom of the post, which sort of sums up the argument better:
Why is Gen X so conservative? Because we were raised in conservative times.
I think this is probably the most likely result. Growing up in Canada with all the constitutional stuff left me pretty much in the camp of let's just forget about it. The most active groups were Western reform movements which were calling for a complete overhaul of the status quo. (it was pie in the sky stuff that fitted my younger ideals quite well)
I will say, unlike others, I have tilted more left because of my kids. Going through their culture wars dealing with different issues around sexual orientation, and having not had a lot of money for much of their youth, and living hand to mouth, I have definitely have changed my world view on a lot of ideas.
But that is likely an outlier, most of my classmates from small town rural Alberta have grown up very much on the right and very much in the UCP camp.
I grew up mostly in Calgary's southern suburbs, arguably the epicentre of Canadian conservative politics, and readily admit a blue tinged point of view. Many of the current movers and shakers in Canadian conservative politics were my neighbors and classmates.
This article definately rings true about the legacy of Gen X coming of age during the era of Regan and Thatcher. It was a time of upward mobility, both real and imagined, and backlash against the dark side of 60's and 70's social changes (ex. high divorce rate). Hippies were the target of ridicule, not only for their sense of style but also their lack of ambition. The clean-cut preppy look reigned supreme.
The impact of the party ending in the early 90's was perhaps even more profound. Eloquently expressed by Fight Club's Tyler Durdern, "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off". Unlike the Millennials, Gen X seemed more inclined to wallow in despair (ex. Grunge) or double down on Neoliberalism. The Canadian experience was slightly different as the economic downturn lasted far longer than in the US and the country was consumed by constitutional debates. That seems to have left the Canadian Gen X a touch more cynical than their American counterparts.
As a Gen-X male my politics were shaped early on by my lefty Boomer parents who were very much pro-union and pro-socialism. I wasn't crazy about the Hippie lifestyle they flirted with in their '20s and found my own culture in the '90s, riding the alt rock music wave that was prevalent back then. What I took from it was the resistance to selling out and how so many bands I like were determined to succeed on their own terms. Some did, many did not, but I respected the effort.
The thing that really cemented my political beliefs was MANUFACTURING CONSENT, the documentary about political activist and American media critic Noam Chomsky. I found it to be a fascinating look Chomsky and his ideas. It also made me want to check out some of his work and sparked a desire to wake up and realize what was going on in our society. That, coupled with my parents' political leanings, really shaped and continue to shape my political beliefs solidly to the left.
Not all of us are like this.
No of course not. These are general trends and tendencies -- not individual character traits. In fact one thing I should have noted more clearly in the body of the text is that Canadian Gen X women are overwhelmingly intending to vote Liberal -- it's the men who are in favour of the CPC.
Yes true. But the boomers are worse!
Boomers responded to the excesses of the right. Too much emphasis following silly rules, silly standards that were unnecessary. Do what you're tpld and don't speak back. The Gen Xers are likewise responding to the excesses of the left. What is a woman? DEI. Obesity as acceptable....
In 1984 I was 20 years old. I spent half at your hitchhiking around Canada. At the end of that trip I hitchhiked from Vancouver to my home in Cape Breton in 6 days! My motivation was that I wanted to vote in the federal election. I got home before dawn on election day so that I could vote for Brian Mulroney. Now, at 60, I'm so far to the left that I feel there is no party for me in Canada.
Grew up in Conservative stronghold of AB, and saw what that did to the people I cared about, and now live in SK, and I decided not to be like that. I will not ever lean right. To me it would be like giving in and becoming like everyone else. To me it would indeed be selling out. But you are correct in that many of my generation do in fact lean right, and every single time, I'm like HOW? How are you still doing this?
I also grew up in a very conservative community. I’ve only once voted Liberal in a federal election and that was Jean Cretien’s term. He was a good PM. While I’m accepting of progression (even as a conservative), the Liberal party has moved so far left so fast under our current PM, I simply can’t support their policies and I’m fearful of where this country is headed.
Sad about Evan Wright. I imagine that kind of work takes its toll and holds for war reporters in general. That Generation Kill series is some of the best TV I’ve ever watched.
Yeah it really bums me out. I've watch the show probably a dozen times, and read the book twice. I'm going to write a longer piece on GK at some point.
That would be great. I look forward to it.
This does not in any way reflect the GenXers I personally know. But what I do see is we in my particular peer group are more nuanced thinkers than our parents or kids. And many of us are therefore politically homeless in a political epoch that gets juiced on polarized algorithms. And some who were previously left-identified have to vote for their least worst preference. And in what alternate universe are Boomers ‘left’ by definition? That describes almost none of that generation in my region of Canada.
Why is it that followers of the writings of Marx and his modern-day expositors are "progressive," while followers of the writings of Adam Smith, Hayek, and Friedman are "reactionary"? I rather prefer the label "rational" for the latter followers, and "nuts" for the former.
When, in 2015, the youth voted en masse for Justin Trudeau, were they not being "reactionary" against Harper? If not, the label has no meaning in politics except to signal one's stance. Why not be honest and overt about it?
Aren't the radical environmentalists and global warming alarmists really the most conservative and "reactionary" political actors in contemporary society? Hippies and their spawn are the most reactionary of all. Marx was a reactionary - he wanted to remake society completely, from the ground up.
I wrestled with this one, as I'm not conservative. I guess you could say I was reactionary towards this post... heh heh. Because I'm very middle-of-the-spectrum, with a clear lean towards Liberals and some general sympathy for the NDP... because most Canadian conservative parties have moved so far rightward in the recent decade or so. And, to your point... or to the flip side of it... because when I grew up, Mulroney was PM and despised in my neck of the woods. So, my feelings associated with that time period will always make it tough for me to vote for a Conservative.
Was GenX really more left back in the 90s? I'm not sure. The music and films and protest movements of our time were, but that doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the generation was.
I think we have to be careful about making too general, broad brush of claims here, and I know you are careful on that front. I looked at your hyperlinks and recent polls by other polling firms (like this big generational study (https://www.pollara.com/a-deep-dive-into-generational-differences/ which has vote intent and economic situation and top issues). Yes, GenX in Canada is more Conservative, but (1) it's not by a huge amount and (2) it could be momentary and not something that has been or will be a fixture of this generation. We live in an angry inflationary age when incumbents are not popular, and that is especially true of the federal Liberals. So, the government in waiting Conservatives are benefitting from that federally.
Not sure where I'm going with this. I was surprised by your post, and disappointed that GenX is somewhat more conservative in terms of current voting patterns. But I can't argue against it. There are a few points that put caveats on your overall argument above, but that's it. I share them in the spirit of contributing to your thought processes on this whole topic, because I hope and kinda assume that this substack may translate into a book one day. A book I'd eagerly buy and read, and buy for others too.
"Raking it in"? I must've missed a meeting. :P