Generation C: The Confused and Economically Illiterate Ones (WSJ, Andy Kessler) \ stacker news ~econ

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Generation C: The Confused and Economically Illiterate Ones (WSJ, Andy Kessler)www.wsj.com/opinion/generation-c-as-in-confused-7d224d24

1525 sats \ 16 comments \ @denlillaapan 17h econ

I'm sure this is some sort of American-English pun (Generation Z = C...?), because Generation Z, the Zoomers, are so capitalism skeptic that "hostile" fits.

BUT, we already knew that elite colleges were crap:

A Wellesley College junior, majoring in economics as well as “peace and justice studies,” complained to the Journal about narrow job opportunities. While Wellesley’s economics department offers solid macro and micro courses, even “ECON 312: The Economics of Globalization,” peace and justice studies was new to me. So I did a little digging and found these courses: “PEAC 346: Decolonizing the Bible” and PEAC 205, which lectures students on “how gender as a symbolic construct configures how we make sense of war making and peacebuilding.”

You’d think learned professors would teach that capitalism drives peace and justice, while constantly failing socialism delivers, I don’t know, human-rights-abusing Cuba and Venezuela? No cap, that’s sus (translation: no lie, that’s suspicious). Universities are living contradictions.

There's some CyBos (Cyber bohemian quitters) and Gen G (Generation guilty).... and Gen C for CONFUSED.

"You can’t blame them; look at the Sybil-like multipersonality splits at Wellesley and most universities."

I have to believe that most corporate recruiters by now see “peace and justice” and other squishy majors as red flags after marketing disasters by social-justice warriors.

I wish. Woke may be dying but it still has some death throes in it. (#1280506, #1287436)

Oh, this is a nice list:

Young people complain (and yes, I’m generalizing) about affordability and food deserts while sipping Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccinos at Starbucks.
They demand land acknowledgments but have no sense of history.
They stand for “gender equality” but sing along to vile and misogynist music.
They love actress Sydney Sweeney in shows like “Euphoria” but hate her for not apologizing for her great jeans or genes.
They love to be influencers but are closed-minded and uninfluenceable.

Capitalism is messy, so it’s considered trash. And Gen C will loudly and proudly tell you this via Instagram and TikTok from their $1,000 parent-bought iPhones as if these things magically appear.

Gen C hates the newly minted billionaires who provide these products and services because, well, it isn’t fair. So they vote for democratic socialists like New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, demand free goodies, and agree there shouldn’t be billionaires because everything they have all magically appeared, remember?

Anyway, I'm quoting like a madman here so it's def worth reading the full article.

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180 sats \ 14 replies \ @Undisciplined 17h

I wish that differed more from all the other generations but it seems to be the norm.

People hate producers and admire looters, maybe because looters might give them free stuff.

102 sats \ 4 replies \ @Scoresby 15h

Came here to say this. The old people never like what the kids are up to. Then the lids become old and don't like what the new kids are up to. Somehow we make progress.

69 sats \ 2 replies \ @denlillaapan OP 15h

Eh, I'm not old. Tell Siggy!

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 14h

You’re old in spirit

69 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan OP 14h

in spirit?!

them are fiiiiighting words

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 12h

Somehow we make progress.

Sometimes we also don't :(

138 sats \ 6 replies \ @kepford 10h

Much of our issues stem from how self obsessed we have become. The US has always had a more individualistic culture but even in the collectivist movements people love today it's mostly self centered self actualizing that is valued.

I think this explains much of the sexual and identity confusion as well as depression. Humans seem to self destruct when we don't have a higher purpose. Something bigger than ourselves. Even though I do believe in individual libery and the ideals of libertarian and anarchist philosopy there does need to be some grounding in a cultural heritage. A religious tradition, something outside of one's self.

It seems to me that when we reject religion and we reject nation, something has to fill in the void, and that something might very well be Marxism, socialism, communism. The appeal of socialism is not hard to understand, what's hard to understand is how bad we have been at explaining why we have everything we have due to free markets.

My theory is that far too many leaders actually haven't rejected the ideas of Marx fully and therefore they cannot refute socialism because they themselves adopt many of its methods and ideologies. Young people are right to question corporatism. They are wrong to question free markets, but the idea that crony capitalism is causing most of our problems isn't 100% wrong.

One of the best one-liners I've heard from the left wing is socialism for corporations and capitalism for the poor.

131 sats \ 3 replies \ @unboiled 6h

the idea that crony capitalism is causing most of our problems isn't 100% wrong.

In which way does crony capitalism, as opposed to cronyism alone, cause some of our problems today?

I'm genuinely curious why the word "capitalism" needed to be added.

73 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 6h

This is how "capitalism" was originally used, as I understand the etymology.

Crony capitalism is about distorting the markets so that the cronies can accumulate financial capital. That strategy only makes sense in a capitalist context. In a centrally planned economy, the cronies would be accumulating some other type of power.

46 sats \ 0 replies \ @unboiled 6h

Crony capitalism is about distorting the markets so that the cronies can accumulate financial capital. That strategy only makes sense in a capitalist context.

Ah, thank you. I wasn't aware of that nuance forming a key part of the accusation.

In a centrally planned economy, the cronies would be accumulating some other type of power.

The political cadres in communist systems were/are exceptionally wealthy. Wouldn't that also fall under crony capitalism?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 5h

@Undisciplined nails it as usual but I am using the term that I commonly hear. They actually just say capitalism but their working definition is more accurately called crony capitalism. Capitalism can function without the state. Just as there could be socialism without the state. In theory at least. This is was left anarchists and some communists envision. Anarcho-capitalism is the other extreme.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 10h

Well said.

My only correction, and I think you'll agree with it, is that young people are right to question free markets but they're wrong to dismiss them.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 9h

Yes

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 14h

USA produces very little except military hardware and financial derivatives- death and debt. US economy is dependent upon its exceptional privilege legacy of the petrodollar. China produces the goods the world wants at the best price and now controls the supply of multiple strategic materials without which the US military industrial combine is crippled. China won the trade war by Producing Things People Want. USA lost it by forgetting Capitalism 101 - Wealth is built on what you produce for others.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan OP 15h

I like looters,too . And hooters

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 14h

US 'capitalism' is based upon its global hegemony via petrodollar which is based upon brute military force and CIA espionage. Free market capitalism is a mask of lies- in the real world nations advance the interests of their corporate sponsors and bankers. The USA is owned by Jewish bankers and the military industrial combine. There is nothing peaceful and Christian about US crony capitalism.