Behold! Doomsday Incoming!
JSC's Monthly Existential Crisis (and yours, too)
“It’s like vibrations that you feel in your car as you drive past a very loud rock concert. It’s a gathering storm, an increase in tension, a cooling of temperature, and a raising of pressure…”
Is everything about to be blown to smithereens?
Everywhere it seems like people are waiting for some type of ‘big bad thing’ to happen. You can’t really put your finger on it, but it’s there. It is almost like something is signaling to you that ‘The End is Nigh!’ What is this?
Perhaps this feeling can be explained with a generational theory called ‘The Fourth Turning.’ I talked about this concept on my podcast and tried to explain the main point of the theory to the best of my ability—but let’s dive into it (deeper), shall we?
Heck! Even Joe Rogan mentioned it on his podcast:
The Fourth Turning Explained
Devised by William Strauss and Neil Howe, the theory tries to describe the behavioral patterns in Western societies over the past 1500 years.
The name comes from the fact that they noticed that every cycle of 80 years—also called an epoch—can be divided into four periods of 20-25 years respectively. These periods are also known as the seasons (explained more in a second): Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and bring with themselves different sets of personal attitudes and behaviors.
Put simply: Every generation has certain attitudes depending on what times they’re born in and stage of the cycle they’re in.*
Another way to think about it is the following phrase:
Good times create weak men, weak men create bad times, bad times create strong men, strong men create good times. Repeat.
America’s (last) most recent Fourth Turning began with the stock market crash of 1929 and climaxed with World War II.
-Lifecourse Associates: The Four Turnings The Fourth Turning marks the end of an era—usually not without a fight…
But before we can discuss the next Fourth Turning (as it is soon upon us), basics first.
* = Dates can be different depending on your country; a myriad of factors will determine what generation you’re part of.
Jordan Peterson for example was born in 1962 which technically makes him Gen-X but if you ever heard him talk he sounds more like a prophet than a nomad (more on that later).
“Back In My Day…”
— Every Baby Boomer
The Four Seasons
I | Spring - The Prophet Generation
Spring is a time of new opportunity and growth. It’s when the tribulations of Winter have gone away and in their stead a new paradigm is set in place; the old is replaced with the new. Gender roles are at their most distinct and defined, family and community bonds are close and unified, parenting is looser, the established norms are reinforced; and most importantly, the youth is full of innocence and bright promise.
The current Prophet Generation are the Baby Boomers (1943–1960).
“Expand Your Mind Man…”
— Every stoner in 1968
II | Summer - The Nomad Generation
In Summer, the established norm starts to splinter and rebellions start forming. Parenting is loosened even more to the point that it becomes neglectful and the children of this generation grow up feeling discontent with the establishments in place—attacks on those institutions start to emerge. (Think the counter-movements of the 1960’s: Vietnam, Sexual Revolution, Civil Rights Movement.)
New passionate ideals are discovered with a focus on the inner world—seeking the controversial or edgy to expand one’s simple (conscious) view of the world as a reaction to the previous generation (think New Wave). Wars are protested against.
If this sounds exactly like the hippie movement to you, that’s because it is.
The current Nomad generation are the Gen-X’ers (1961–1981).
“We Could Be Heroes!”
— David Bowie, Heroes (1977)
III | Autumn - The Hero Generation
This is the generation that in adulthood will bring forth the new age and the new standards to live by. They have weak family bonds, parenting is stricter; the lines between gender roles are at their most blurry, disagreement is rampant and institutions are eroding, elaborating on the nomad’s generations critiques (think Third-wave Feminism, Fatherless Families).
Strong cynicism is present in this generation—people are hopeless about their future and they get overwhelmed by the overly-complex world they must move into, especially early in life.
Diversity is strong, the individual, emotional experience is put above everything else. The common phrase: ‘Well that might be true but it just doesn’t feel right.’
Group guilt is a strong motivator. Wars are fought but inconclusive (Gulf War, War On Terror).
The current Hero generation are the Millennials (1982–2004).
“I Destroy The World and Create It Anew...”
— Lelouch Vi Britannia, Code Geass (2006 - 2008)
IV | Winter - The Artist Generation
Artists champion the new values and institutions (erected by the Hero Generation). Their role is to simplify the formerly complex world by breaking it down into it most essential components. Artists are the first survivors that emerge to (and urgently) rebuild the world after a crisis: They build practical communities and gender roles become more defined again. Back to the basics.
In childhood Artists are overprotected. This is because the parents (being Gen X’ers) don’t want their children to go down the same path they did in their youth (Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll)—stricter boundaries and regulations will be put in place to ‘protect the children’ to the point that it becomes smothering (think Homeland Security).
The current Artist Generation are the Gen-Z’ers (2005–2025)*.
And then the cycle repeats!
* = Dates vary.
The Prophecy - How This Applies to You
The next Fourth Turning is said to be around 2020 - 2030, or at least that’s the current prediction, the climax being 2023 or 2025—it is in this period that the Millennial generation will valiantly step up and fight for their ideals.*
A total war is most likely on the menu. Famine and civil wars will be the main dish. Nuclear warfare might be a side, and technological warfare the dessert with info-wars as the cherry on top—nothing to be afraid of, just millions, if not billions of deaths—not unusual for humanity.
Economic systems will collapse due to the conflict and social support systems will go out the window—say goodbye to your retirement savings! New borders will be drawn and laws will be updated, now in line with modern technology. All in all, the end of an era and start of a new one
In the late 2020’s conflict will diminish again and roughly a decade later (2030 - 2035) new laws, institutions and establishments will be put in place. Which can either be a tyrannical dystopia or a harmonious utopia. Exciting.
* = People consider this generation as nothing special but the same thing was said about the G.I. Generation (aka ‘The Greatest Generation’) (1901–1924) and look how we view and treat those people now—as heroes!
Conclusion - What Can I Do About It?!
Obviously, this prophecy can prove to be false (and let’s hope it is)!
But in the case it will happen: What to do about it?
The best thing you could probably do is to keep a positive and optimistic attitude, because in tragedy the only thing you can control is your attitude towards it.
If you tilt your intention towards improvement, and others do, too—remaining realistic—humanity has no choice but to move towards betterment.
Let's hope it will.
JSC
P.S.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to share it with your friends and/or family if this may be of use them—I want to help as many people as possible—you can also aid in that.
Appreciate it!
P.S.S.
There is a lot more to unpack on this topic, let me know in the comments, my other social media (Discord, Twitter, Instagram) or E-mail (CroissantsToRichard@gmail.com) if you want to see a part two of this. Merci.
If you want to learn more about The Fourth Turning consider the following resources:
My Podcast - Going into the topic and it’s components more.
Metallicman Article - More in depth but bit biased, buyer beware.
Uh oh.
the life i had all planned out for several decades to come will surely not come to a despairful end with this new crisis!