Kirkrapine
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2018
- Posts
- 5,538
There has been a lot written about how America becoming less and less white dooms the GOP, but I think this is more important and more certain:
I've read reports of studies showing that Millennials are less socially conservative than any elder American generation -- less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, less xenophobic, and less religious, with a reported 25% of avowed atheists and agnostics. And there is no reason to expect any of that to change as they age. (I have also read reports of studies showing that people tend to grow more liberal, not more conservative, as they age.) Any political appeal to any of those things is going to be wasted on them, now and for the rest of their lives.
Nor is there any reason to expect the long-term trend of greater and greater social liberalism -- easily perceptible if you compare the GI Generation to the Silent Generation to the Baby Boomers to the GenXers to the Millennials -- to reverse itself in future generations.
Eventually, the social conservatives are going to die off without being replaced -- even in the red states.
OTOH, Millennials are not necessarily socialists. Economic libertarianism might appeal to many of them. (At least, those who would feel confident of prospering in an unregulated market economy -- and what young person doesn't think something of the kind?)
If the GOP wants to remain relevant, it will have to learn to soft-pedal the social conservatism and emphasize the economic libertarianism.
I've read reports of studies showing that Millennials are less socially conservative than any elder American generation -- less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, less xenophobic, and less religious, with a reported 25% of avowed atheists and agnostics. And there is no reason to expect any of that to change as they age. (I have also read reports of studies showing that people tend to grow more liberal, not more conservative, as they age.) Any political appeal to any of those things is going to be wasted on them, now and for the rest of their lives.
Nor is there any reason to expect the long-term trend of greater and greater social liberalism -- easily perceptible if you compare the GI Generation to the Silent Generation to the Baby Boomers to the GenXers to the Millennials -- to reverse itself in future generations.
Eventually, the social conservatives are going to die off without being replaced -- even in the red states.
OTOH, Millennials are not necessarily socialists. Economic libertarianism might appeal to many of them. (At least, those who would feel confident of prospering in an unregulated market economy -- and what young person doesn't think something of the kind?)
If the GOP wants to remain relevant, it will have to learn to soft-pedal the social conservatism and emphasize the economic libertarianism.
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