The current trend of young people embracing free enterprise and yearning to become entrepreneurs when they grow up seems to be part of an even bigger social shift. Tech Central Station has posted an article written by James K. Glassman reporting on a study on "the mood of American youth". (Glassman's commentary has been published in many newspapers throughout the country over the past week or two).
"Violence, drug use and teen sex have declined. Kids are becoming more conservative politically and socially. They want to get married and have large families. And, get this, they adore their parents.
"The Mood of American Youth Survey found that more than 80 percent of teenagers report no family problems -- up from about 40 percent a quarter-century ago. In another poll, two-thirds of daughters said they would 'give Mom an 'A.'
"'In the history of polling, we've never seen tweens and teens get along with their parents this well,' says William Strauss, referring to kids born since 1982. Strauss is author, with Neil Howe, of 'Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation.'"
What is behind this radical shift? Glassman quotes an article by Kay S. Hymowitz, in which she believes that is has four root causes:
"1) a 'rewrite of the boomer years,' with young people reacting critically to the world of sexual experimentation and family breakup and 'earnestly knitting up their unraveled culture,' 2) the trauma of 9/11, which has made kids more patriotic and turned them inward toward the comfort of family, 3) the information economy, which has given young people greater faith in their own chances to succeed, especially through self-reliance and entrepreneurship, and 4) immigration, which has produced what she calls a 'fervent work ethic, which can raise the bar for slacker American kids, as any higher schooler with more than three Asian students in his algebra class can attest.'"
I was talking with one of my colleagues just this past week about how different the young people we see in college are compared to those of just five years ago. They are more serious and more diligent. They are more self-reliant and ready to learn for the sake of learning. And they have a very different meaning of success. It includes more balance between economic measures of success and the successes achieved through becoming a spouse and a parent.
Although Democrats should be shaking in their boots about how this could change things for the next decade or so, traditional Republicans cannot take these young people for granted either. They do not trust institutions that abuse power, whether it be governments or large corporations. But they do embrace the system of free enterprise and they long to build stronger families that will last. The Republican shift back toward moderation may not resonate with this group for very long.
Maybe I've been understating things when I've talked about the entrepreneurial economy today. It may be that this is a cultural shift that goes well beyond simple economics. Maybe the entrepreneurial economy is but just one part of a fundamental change that may alter America as radically as did the 1960s generation.
