The Fourth Turning

[T1]

Glenn Beck was talking about this book that was written in the 90's on his show tonight and I found it fascinating. The author observed American history and 4 cycles we go through every 80 years or so. Interested to see if anyone finds truth in it. (I do).

Read this chart as though the last 4th Turning was World War 2, then the 1st Turning was 1950's. The 2nd Turning was 1960-70's. The 3rd Turning was 80's to today and we are about to enter another 4th Turning. For example, during the World War 2 generation the family was strengthening, then in the 50's the family was strong, then in the 60-70's the family was weakening, and now the family is weak. ("Institutions" is a good one to look at too).



I'm going to have to go buy the book because there is a lot more to it than just this. For example, you are influenced by which turning (generation) you are born into and you reject the previous generation (turning). The author predicted we would enter the 4th Turning around 2005ish. The Greatest generation was in the last 4th Turning, then the Boomers in the 1st Turning, then Generation X in the 2nd Turning, then the Millennials in the 3rd Turning.

[rabiddawg]

I'm turning this off

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Really interesting indeed. And yes much of it so true.

[Blue Dawg]

Interesting. I'm a big fan of cyclical history. Anyone who's into this should check out Eugen Rosenstock-Huessey's stuff.

[T1]

As I got older I started realizing there was a pattern and every generation is raised in different circumstances. Some generations had it hard (like during the Great Depression) and some generations had it easy (my generation... Generation X). I've noticed different parenting styles... it seems like my grandparents were harder on my parents than they were on me, and I am on my kids. I had no idea there were just 4 patterns and they repeat, but I do know that King Solomon said in the Bible that "there is nothing new under the sun" meaning history just repeats itself. So time doesn't move in a straight line, it's a circle that moves forward.

[KSDAWG]

Interesting. I'm a big fan of cyclical history. Anyone who's into this should check out Eugen Rosenstock-Huessey's stuff.

This

[splicer]

I'm a 2005 grad, and feel like I fall into the 4th turning, leaning into the first turning.

[T1]

Isn't it strange that one generation gives us Ronald Reagan and the next gives us Barack Obama? Social priorities change from individual to community back to individual and back to community. It gives me a little comfort to think we aren't headed toward Communism, there will be a swing back to individualism... but our government will be so big by then, I'm not sure how the individual will function in that system. Revolution?

[T1]

Just thought of something: They called it the Reagan Revolution, then Bill Clinton said "the era of big government is over." Then Obama brought the biggest government ever. We should start trending back to smaller government soon.

[techman05]

"All my life's a circle, sunrise and sundown. The moon rolls through the nighttime, til the daybreak comes around. All my life's a circle, and I can't tell you why. The seasons spinning round again. The years keep rolling by."


I would buy the logic that with slight changes, we largely repeat patterns.