Among American voters, there used to be a persistent trend where younger generations would vote more liberal, while older generations would vote more conservative. However, over time, these younger generations would begin to become more conservative just as their elders were. Now, there are new statistics that show this trend may no longer apply to Americans.
Instead, many younger generations are voting liberal — and staying liberal, even as they get older. As a result, many researchers are trying to find out why this is occurring. For many, they believe “wokeness” is to blame.
A New Voting Trend
Post-war trends have always shown that younger generations will shift from liberal voting to conservative voting as they age. Though this voting tendency is in no way universal, it has been quite accurate when inspecting American voters.
However, millennials have changed this trend. Millennials are now the first generation to stay liberal as they age.
The “Anti-Woke” Divide
Many conservatives and elder Americans have increasingly become “anti-woke”. Their social views have become more conservative recently. Many of these voters and their leaders, such as Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have worked to suppress teaching about racism, inequalities, and LGBTQ+ topics in schools.
However, many younger generations do not believe in the anti-woke movement as their elders do. Thus, a huge divide has been made between the young and the old.
The Attack On Education
The anti-woke movement has made many conservatives take a look at why their younger generations — and even younger Republicans — do not agree with them on social issues.
This has led to many stating that their children are being indoctrinated while in school by leftist teachers. Thus, the movement to limit what is taught in schools and ban books has become prevalent throughout many states in the U.S.
Many Criticize Conservative Indoctrination Theories
Though conservatives have been quite successful in changing school districts and banning books, many do oppose these movements. Their critics state that school indoctrination theories are complete myths.
Conservatives believe this theory is why their youth are remaining liberal. However, many studies have shown that Millenials and Gen Zs continue to have liberal social views. This attack on schools may just push them to keep these liberal views. Of course, these movements could also work and help keep some Republicans conservative over time.
What Caused This Generational Divide?
Though Gen Z and younger generations still have time to turn more conservative as they age, many Millenials have already reached their 40s staying liberal. Why has this happened?
The 2008 financial crisis may have made Millenials stay liberal, even as they get older. Many studies have shown that the 2008 crisis has had a lasting effect on Millennials as a whole. Some studies even show that the crisis has harmed Millennials more than any other generation.
Older Generations Align With The Stock Market
Many Millenials, especially the elders of the generation, were hurt by the 2008 financial crisis. Though older generations were, too, they were seemingly able to recover more easily. Now, many older generations align their interests with the stock market and assets.
Meanwhile, Millennials are still struggling in the job market. They rely more on their wages than assets. Many cannot buy a home. Therefore, they do not align their interests with the stock market.
Millennials Want More Equality
This financial crisis directly ties into social issues facing the U.S. today. Many Millennials have continued to struggle in the financial world after 2008. They believe that they have been shut out of the housing market. As a result, they feel that this part of society is unequal.
This feeling of inequality has seemingly influenced their thinking. A report from the think tank Onward discovered that Millennials “think equality should be prioritized over economic growth and that a person’s position in society is due to outside factors rather than individual effort.”
The Old Conservative Way Of Thinking
This Millennial view — which is also shared by conservative Millennials — is greatly different from the old conservative way of thinking about society.
The old conservative way of thinking deals with individual responsibility. This idea says that individuals are responsible for the outcome of their lives. These outcomes are in no way impacted by outside influences, such as society or structural inequalities.
Younger Generations Are More Pro-Union
This great shift in ideology among generations appears in the debate about wokeness. However, it also shows up in just about all parts of life and government action.
This difference can be seen in regard to strikes and unions. Statistics have shown that younger generations are more pro-union and more friendly to strikes, even if it affects them negatively the most for a short time, than older generations.
Millennial Economic Concerns Persist
Millennials have never been able to get ahead, thanks to the 2008 financial crisis. As a result, they have looked at ways to help change the entire system in both financial and social ways. This completely rejects the older conservative way of thinking.
As current economic concerns have only made Millennial worries persist, this may be why younger generations are staying liberal. Add this to the fact that they aren’t as anti-woke as their elders, and many believe they’ve found the reason why these generations aren’t becoming conservative.
A New Conservative Worry
For conservatives in the U.S., this new trend has become worrisome. After all, as the elder generations die, they will need to bring in new young conservatives. Clearly, this is not happening.
There aren’t enough young conservatives to replace the elder ones. Eventually, this could become a huge problem for the Republican party in the U.S., especially as they seek to win elections at the state and national levels.
