[ams6110]

I think it's age more than generational. Every generation is idealistic in youth. By the time you've lived 50 or 60 years you see that you cannot wish the world to be the way you want it to be, and things are more complicated than they seemed when you were 22.

[soylentcola]

To some extent, sure. But also I've noticed that easy, cheap global communication enabled by the web and similar technologies has given people wider access to info and viewpoints from around the world whereas in past generations, you had to study abroad or live in a cosmopolitan city to get a lot of that.

I don't mean to suggest that provincialism is dead and buried but I do think that a 20-year-old today has much greater odds of at least being aware of the views and outlooks of people in other parts of the world than a 20-year old in 1970 or 1980.

[talmand]

That doesn't necessarily make them wiser.

[pessimizer]

Once you've reached 50 or 60, you don't want to risk your house price, your stock value, or that job that you worked for a quarter of a century getting up to. With little working time left, you're not likely to recover. So you rationalize your self-interest with generalized vagaries when what you really want is for things to stay how they are for your own safety.