September 12, 2004

IN the review of her book, No Logo, I described Naomi Klein as belonging to “Generation X”. Since some people asked me the meaning of the term “Generation X”, I felt further explanation was in order.

The letter “X” was first used by Paul Fussell in 1984 to denote a group of people who have pulled away from society. But it was popularized by David Coupland in 1991. In his book, Class, Paul Fussell used “X” to describe a group of people who did not want to identify with the class conscious American set-up. Contrary to the common belief, Paul Fussell believes that America is a highly class conscious society. He says, “If you find an American who feels entirely class secure, stuff and exhibit him. He’s a rare specimen.” In the chapter, “The X Way Out”, he lists the characteristics of the classless class X: a group of people who have withdrawn from a lifestyle others are busy pursuing.

The term “Generation X” became popular after the Canadian writer, Douglas Coupland, published his novel by the same title in 1991. Because the fictional characters in Coupland’s book exhibit the same characteristics as described by Paul Fussell in “The X Way Out”, he called his novel Generation X.

Coupland writes about three characters who have distanced themselves from society. He describes them as 20 something, underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable. Coupland’s characters represent a group of people who according to him, “have nowhere to direct their anger, no one to assuage their fears, and no one to replace their anomie”.

Born after the “baby boomers”, and growing up at the time of downsizing, outsourcing, shut downs and lay offs, “Generation X” did not have the same opportunities as the generation before them. The label “Generation X” began to project the image of a generation of people who were angry, cynical, frustrated, unmotivated and without hope for the future. Hence, the name”X” because they stand for nothing and believe in nothing. In other words, they do not belong to any class in the social structure.

The exact date of their birth is hard to define. Coupland defines “Generation X” as the generation born in the 1950s and the 1960s. Since the term refers to the generation born following the “baby boomers” (the term “baby boomers” is used for people born after the Second World War) it appears more reasonable to assign the date of their birth anywhere from 1965 to 1980.

Paul Fussell identifies them by their characteristics and attitudes and not by their date of birth. He describes them as self-cultivated, secure, intelligent, perceptive, self-reliant and self-directed. He says that they are interested in history, literature and architecture. They like aesthetic styles, they prefer dressing down, and they read a great deal.

They are also known as “Xers”, “baby busters”, and “busters”. The term “busters” is used because their parents, the “baby boomers”, have left the world with a legacy of declining birth rate and consequently the negative social and economic impact of the decrease in population. Is it fair to label them for the sins of their parents?

In A Generation Alone: Xers Making a Place in the World, Janet Bernardi laments, “My generation has been called various things by our elders, not many of them positive. We have been described as lazy, useless, ill-educated and shallow. We are considered a Peter Pan generation, unwilling to grow up, slow to start careers and launch families.” Other terms of put down used for this generation are “The Nowhere Generation” and “The Lost Generation.”

There is more to “Generation X” than their stereotype image. Some Xers believe that like the variable ‘X’ in algebra, they have limitless possibilities. They see themselves as pragmatic and active participants not as passive observers. They look for authentic relationships not social contacts. They want freedom from authority figures and seek their self-respect from social approval.

They are bright, capable, questioning people who are not afraid of change. They are not out to impress anyone or compromise for their personal gain. They abhor the value system that most people cherish and exploit to their advantage. They have not abdicated. By distancing themselves from a system they do not appreciate, they can be more objective about it. They are “Generation Why.”

Are they wrong to question the present order and demand a more just world? The gap between the rich and poor is getting greater. Sadly, there are more poor people than the rich in this world. The income distribution has become more lopsided than ever before. Royal Shell’s makes more money than the GDP of Venezuela. Wal-Mart’s profits are greater than the revenues of Indonesia. The revenues of General Motors are approximately the same as that of Ireland, New Zealand and Hungary put together. In 1993, 400 people in America were worth $328 billion which is much higher than the combined GNP of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal in 1991 where billions of people live. In America, in 1960 the income of an average CEO was 40 times more than that of an average worker. In 1992, the gap had grown to 157 times more. In the US between 1977 and 1989, the income of the bottom 20 per cent decreased by 10.4 per cent, but the income of the top one per cent top families increased by 78 per cent! I can go on, but you get the picture.

Xers question the value system they have inherited from the “Me Generation”. The previous generation provided them with material comfort, the shopping mall culture, but not much in the form of security or stability. With both parents working, Xers grew up as “latch-key kids” coming home alone to an empty house. They now seek fulfillment differently from their parents. They have the reputation of being spiritual but not religious, fiercely independent, and demanding drastic changes that will make their lives more meaningful.

George Barna, in The Invisible Generation: Baby Busters, writes that “Busters have outright rejected the personal, short-term, fluid relational character of their parents. They have veered more toward traditional long-term relationships

“Boomers sought relational breadth Busters seeks relational depth. What emerges are two generations bonded by blood, but separated by emotions and expectations.” Xers long for sincere, meaningful, permanent and equitable relationships.

Xers are people of substance who have some genuine concerns. Naomi Klein is just one example. Growing up after the American dream had faded, they feel let down by their elders and they are critical of the gluttonous lifestyle of their parents. The bumper sticker, “I am spending my children’s inheritance!” says it all.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)