If you read widely enough in history, sooner or later you start to think there are some clearly repeating themes and problems and trends, and that there are pendulums in society that swing back and forth every few generations. You might get the sense that history might be more about cycles than about continuous progression in a straight line. Is there anything to this impression? Today we explore the concept of cyclical history and what role different generations might play in such a cycle through the lens of Strauss-Howe generational theory.

Join CJ as he discusses:

• Ancient conceptions of cyclical time
• The concept of linear time
• Some modern conceptions of cyclical time
• The generational theory of William Strauss & Neil Howe, authors of (among other things) the famous book The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy
• What the Strauss-Howe theory says about recent American history as well as about its present & future
• CJ’s thoughts on Strauss & Howe’s theory

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External Links

• The Midwest Peace & Liberty Fest (I went last year & had a great time. Looks like I won’t be able to make it this year, but I urge you to consider going if you can make it!)
• Neil Howe: The World is on the Verge of Generational Crisis
• Neil Howe: Is Trump America’s ‘Grey Champion’? (Howe is not willing to say yes at this point…)
• “The Gray Champion” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Neil Howe: It’s going to get worse; more financial crises coming
• Neil Howe on Millenials in the workplace
• Generation Zero (2010 documentary written & directed by Steve Bannon) (Bannon made a movie that took Strauss & Howe’s ideas on generational cycles & ran with it in a judgmental direction that awkwardly combines Alt Right & Neocon attitudes, which are not at all present in Strauss & Howe’s work)
• “Where did Steve Bannon get his worldview? From my book,” by Neil How (Washington Post)
• “The Daily 202: Five books to understand Steve Bannon” by James Hohmann (Washington Post)
• George Carlin on the Importance of Not Giving a Shit (among other things, in this clip he talks about how, as a member of the Silent Generation, he found himself in the middle of the conflict between the older GI Generation & the younger Boomers, and he ultimately sided with the latter)
• “The Oregon Trail Generation” (a great article from a few years ago describing the people — like CJ — who were born on the border between Gen X & Gen Y.)
• The US Debt Clock