Generation Y, the so-called “silent generation” is obsessed with Bernie Sanders. Why? Well, the immature leftist politics espoused by Sanders is easy to embrace for bourgeois college students who have yet to enter the real world. Do I disagree with Sander’s philosophies, no, but I am not a leftist in any sense of the word. I am a Democratic capitalist who believes that the modicum of meritocracy that a capped capitalist system provides is the closest any society can get to egalitarianism.
Is there anything wrong with Sander’s outspoken desire to care for the poor and redistribute wealth from the top “one-percenters” to the middle class and the poverty stricken? Absolutely not, but I, like Hillary Clinton, believe that we can restructure society in such a way that we care for the poor and the people who cannot support themselves, while simultaneously living in a capitalist society, one that permits people with skills and special talents to reach their full potential in the workforce.
The irony of all this is that college students, who are supposedly selected on merit and special talents, have a tendency to shift to the left because they exist in a limbo where money is of no consequence and there is no “financial anxiety” hanging over many of the college students whose parents foot the bill for a bachelor’s degree.
Generation Y (and this is a topic for another article) are corporate entities who have yet to enter the workforce. Perhaps the equalizing force of college, where people from similar financial backgrounds come together in a communal situation backed by someone else’s wealth (whether that is the school’s, their parents, or their own) is what permits a pro-socialist philosophy among this new generation of vapid future entrepreneurs.
The rich leftists, like Sanders, are fascinating. They are splattered all over Hollywood, in every ivy tower in academia and out on the street preaching politics. But if you are so rich, why are you against a system that you have benefitted from? That’s the irony, the working poor, working class and middle class in America shift toward the right financially even if it doesn’t benefit them due to their economic background; meanwhile, some of the super rich are out in public preaching “f&% the system,” while they line their pockets with it.
Perhaps we have the age-old “haves” and “have nots” political theory to blame for this phenomenon among Generation Y. They have wealth that was not earned, so, naturally, socialism makes sense. In a sense, many Generation “Y’ers” are actually living in a socialist society.
The true test of liberalism is the ability to remain liberal once you’ve had a taste of the real world. Let’s see how much Generation Y supports Bernie two years after graduation…
