I used to think that people focusing so much ire on boomers was anti-Marxist because the main contradiction in American society is class (settler / indigenous, bourgeois / proletarian) but I’ve started to wonder if this profound and really ubiquitous age-consciousness (ageism) is actually just a step toward class consciousness? Like I’m guessing most people who hate boomers don’t really have a problem with homeless boomers?
I’m thinking also of how women in South Korea are refusing to get married or have kids and how this will basically destroy South Korea (albeit slowly) if trends continue. Women in South Korea are objectively correct in identifying men as their oppressors, but is this awareness of the patriarchy a step toward class consciousness and revolutionary thought or is it a dead end? I guess it depends on the person as well as circumstances.
It still seems like, regardless of how hard the bourgeoisie pushes the idea that only individuals exist and anyone can rise to the top if they just work hard and smart enough, large numbers of people are possibly developing nascent class consciousness, which can lead toward an understanding of historical materialism and scientific socialism. This is basically an extended “is it gonna be barbarism or socialism?” meme but I just thought I’d post it here to see what people thought.
No. "Boomer," "Millennial," "Zoomer," etc. are terms that were invented for marketing. Generational warfare is largely a distraction- the major reason older generations tend to lean more conservative is because poor people die younger.
Edit: Just to add, Millennials and Zoomers would probably be a lot more right wing if not for the 2008 recession and housing crisis. The biggest reason they tilt more left is because the current version of capitalism has run out of ways to give them the stability that older generations enjoyed. That's it- there's nothing intrinsically better about young people.