The uncertainty that my generation faces is a familiar challenge to me. I have delved into the content I am currently attempting to compose. I have observed. I have viewed the TikToks.
However, the lifestyle I am currently leading provides the most significant indication that our generation is confronting an escalating economic dilemma. Admitting this reality, though, was something I was not prepared for.
Similar to many men of the millennial cohort who have recently entered their thirties, I am content to label myself as a delayed adolescent. As the conventional milestones of adulthood have been postponed, so has my perception of myself as a fully mature individual. Despite managing the demands and obligations of grown-up life, I still sense that I am navigating my way through the world with the mindset of a youngster.
The optimism about my future, instilled in me by my parents, continued to echo loudly in my mind, overshadowing the harsh realities of my daily existence. It felt as if my mind was divided; maintaining faith in the dream while simultaneously grasping the actuality. Despite witnessing the housing crisis exacerbate the unattainability of homeownership with each passing day, despite the seemingly insurmountable weight of student debt, I clung to the belief that the path to economic security and stability was within my grasp. I believed that my efforts would yield fruitful results. If I toiled diligently enough, hustled with greater intensity, and crafted a more prosperous, financially secure, and commercially viable version of myself, I too could achieve.
However, my perspective shifted late last year when I embarked on an exploration of the economic challenges confronting our generation for the podcast “Who Screwed Millennials.” Through extensive research and recording sessions, I, in a sense, matured.
During my investigative journey, I came to the realization that the lifestyle my parents enjoyed would never be attainable for me, regardless of how diligently I worked.
“We venture out into the world and come to the realization that we’re in a tough spot. The world doesn’t quite cater to our desires,” remarked one of the individuals I interviewed, Dr. Intifar Chowdhury. “There’s a significant disparity between how we were raised and the harsh realities of the world.”
Following the conclusion of Covid lockdown measures in New South Wales, I directly experienced the rental crisis. Escalating rents and the soaring cost of living compelled my partner and me to relocate three times within a span of as many years. With each move, we found ourselves drifting farther away from the city, our workplaces, and the connections we had forged with people and places when we signed each lease. Any aspirations we harbored of freeing ourselves from the uncertainties of the rental market were shattered each time we reviewed our combined student loan debt and diminishing savings.
The data that maps social unity in Australia over time indicates that nearly half of individuals aged 18 to 44 – encompassing millennials and Gen Z – expressed that they were merely “getting by financially,” with an equal proportion believing that their pursuits in life held little to moderate significance.
“When such shifts become apparent, it poses a significant threat to any society,” remarked Jill Filipovic, the author of “OK Boomer, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.”
Filipovic asserts that generational disparity is not merely a fabricated cultural clash but a palpable economic and political schism that has the potential to deepen existing divides.
I have witnessed this phenomenon both online and in real-life interactions. While older generations point fingers at younger cohorts for their perceived lack of initiative, I observe friends and family members spiraling into despair as they search for answers as to why they are unable to realize the lives they believed were guaranteed to them.
“I believe that when individuals feel deceived and begin losing faith in society, in their government, and in institutions,” Filipovic shared, “nothing positive arises from such disillusionment.”
I am undeniably a product of the global financial crisis, a period during which I witnessed my generation losing faith in the prevailing economic order and taking to the streets in protest. I perceived this juncture as a critical turning point in addressing economic inequality – a moment that necessitated systemic change for our generation to embrace optimism about our future. Yet, over a decade later, here we stand.
In our quest to comprehend the origins of our predicament, the podcast team and I reached out to an individual well-versed in financial crises.
Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece who navigated the country through its debt crisis, noted a stark shift in the attitudes of young people over the past decade. For Varoufakis, the challenges and solutions – particularly concerning the housing crisis in Australia – are readily identifiable. However, he laments the political inertia that has persisted over the past seven years, as he conveyed to Guardian Australia.
As our conversation delved deeper, Varoufakis painted generational inequality as an increasingly entrenched issue. Yet, as I projected my personal concerns onto our dialogue, the focus shifted from “what or who caused the housing crisis?” to “who is to blame for my inability to own a home?” Nevertheless, Varoufakis remained optimistic.
“Every generation tends to believe that doomsday is imminent, yet every generation is ultimately proven wrong,” he remarked. “However, it is crucial to pinpoint the underlying causes of apathy and the erosion of cultural capital.”
Varoufakis found a glimmer of hope amidst the crisis – a sentiment echoed, albeit cautiously, by Filipovic.
“The unfortunate news for millennials is that I don’t foresee a complete resolution to this predicament,” she remarked. “Yet, the silver lining for younger individuals is that this cycle does not have to endure indefinitely. Millennials are inherently a more progressive generation.”
In Australia, this progressive mindset has translated into millennials and Gen Z constituting the largest voting bloc. They approach politics in a markedly different manner, prioritizing issues that directly impact them rather than aligning with the offerings of major political parties during election campaigns.
“Should millennials continue to ascend in the political arena… I anticipate that younger generations will witness a future where their well-being is better safeguarded and more actively nurtured,” Filipovic posited. “While progress may not be as swift as desired, I maintain an optimistic outlook regarding the trajectory we are on.”
I share in this optimism and discern the rationale behind it. Nonetheless, I acknowledge the ease with which one can succumb to feelings of anger and apathy.
Before bidding farewell to Varoufakis, before his image vanished from my computer screen and I returned to my modest, mold-infested apartment with white walls, I sought his counsel. I inquired how young individuals can sustain hope and envision a brighter future for themselves and the succeeding generations.
“Well, young people are not particularly keen on receiving advice, especially from individuals like myself,” Varoufakis quipped, paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw. He humorously remarked that anger, or what he termed “madness,” is not always detrimental.
“There exist two categories of young individuals. There are the prudent ones who strive to conform to the existing world, and then there are the audacious ones who endeavor to reshape the world according to their own ideals,” he explained. “Be audacious,” he urged me.