Intergenerational divide.

There is so much talk about racial, gender and economic discrimination that I had never considered the possibility of what Halstead and Lind label as "generational apartheid". Yet, it tuly is a clear trend not only in the US but in contemporary society in general —although it may take slightly different forms in different societies, obviously:

Another major barrier standing in the way of intergenerational harmony is physical, resulting from outmoded zoning laws. As we have noted, our system of generational apartheid segregates neighborhoods by age as ruthlessly as racial apartheid used to segregate neighborhoods by race. A typical American may grow up in a middle-class suburb, and spend the college years in an "apartment city" surrounded by tens of thousands of single young people, before moving to a neighborhood for young couples with "starter" homes, followed by a more prosperous middle-class neighborhood for families with children, and finally by a neighborhood where virtually everyone is old. This bizarre pattern, in which each stage of life is accompanied by a physical migration, is not the result of "market forces", inasmuch as real estate is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States. Rather, this generational apartheid is the result of ill-considered zoning regulations and development policies that mandate that all housing in a particular neighborhood be similar, and that the functions of dwelling, work, and education be kept far apart.

(Halstead & Lind: pp. 187-188).

The fact is that traditional societies promoted an almost permanent communication across generations that has been eroded as we moved to a more complex, more fluid, more dynamic type of society. Together with the cult of the youth and practices such as ageism, we have also witnessed an increasing lack of consideration towards experience and seniority that has ultimately led to the segregation of the elderly in pseudo-internment camps. The fact is that, in today's society, we appreciate novelty for its own sake. The old avant-garde mentality that prizes whatever is new above all —including, yes, the primacy of anything that's shocking simply because it is so—, has seemingly spread to society at large. As a consequence, the elderly have ben left out of society and play almost no role.

Now, according to Halstead and Lind, the government is to blame due to "outmoded zoning laws". I beg to differ. This social phenomenon is too extended throughout the world to allow us such an easy way out. The fact is that societies where such zoning laws don't even exist —for instance, in most of Europe—, there is still a clear tendency towards segregating them in special residencies and, above all, to keep them out of mainstream society. There was a time, not so long ago, when age and experience were attributes that made it easier for a candidate to win an election. Today, on the other hand, a certain youthful exuberance is almost a sine qua non for success.