[slededit]

Welfare state was the term used in the post-war period where Britain re-imagined themselves. America is having this debate now so perhaps that is why it sounds "modern" to you. It comes from the book: Christianity and the Social Order (1942)

Wikipedia has a good etymology section on the term if you are interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state#Etymology

[jcriddle4]

??? The term "Welfare State" was not what captured my attention. The whole article reads like very modern vocabulary. Here is an article on how your vocabulary can be used to predict age/gender/personality. https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/under-the-hood/how-your-...

[forkLding]

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/harry-leslie-smith

Harry seems to have been writing as part of the Guardian for at least 4 years, I think hes most likely adopted practices that can better connect to modern audiences.

[jcriddle4]

I guess another possibility is his editor suggests some changes, which is a reasonable thing to do.

[slededit]

I didn't get that from the article. To counter, "omens of doom." "deficient in honour, wisdom and just simple human kindness. " "I watch them in their leisure"

These are not phrases I'd expect to hear from a Millennial.