The War on the Young

Intergenerational conflictis a perennial feature of society and capitalism. One side has the youth, theother side has the lion's share of the wealth, and the good things wealth canbring.

In the last few years thatfriction has reached to dangerous heights. Call it war. And, like all war, ithas the risk of doing severe damage.

In this fiery polemic theauthor of the best-selling The War on theOld has switched sides, and now examines the conflict as it must appear tothe young.

For the first time sincethe Second World War, younger generations can expect less fulfilled lives thantheir elders. They may not be their 'betters', but in the second decade of the twenty-firstcentury they surely are better heeled.

Traditionally society's way of controlling theyoung has been to send them off to war, or conscript them. They would eitherdie, or learn 'duty'. Now we send as many as 50% to university, from which theyemerge encumbered with debt. As Orwell observed, there is nothing like debt forextinguishing the political fire in your belly.

The War on the Young is lively, provocative and ranges wittily, and at times angrily, overmany casus belli from the standpointof the nation's young people. Things are not getting better. This is a timelyand highly readable look at a ticking generational time-bomb.