Why is Gen X so much more conservative than Baby Boomers?

[Ferguson97]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/11/gen-z-fall-trumpism-gop-realignment-424171

In a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of members of Gen Z, support for Black Lives Matter remains high at 68 percent, with 51 percent strongly supporting the movement. By comparison, 54 percent of all registered voters support the BLM movement, with just 32 percent strongly backing it. Among older generations, only 26 percent of Gen X support the movement, and 44 percent of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. Similarly, 56 percent of Gen Z strongly agree that racism is a “major problem” in the country compared with 43 percent of Gen X and 39 percent of boomers.

Polls also consistently show Biden doing much better with 65+ voters, with Trump leading among voters between 50 and 64.

So what's to explain for this?

[Indy Texas]

I don't know what explains it, necessarily, but it's not surprising if you look at how well Reagan and GHWB did with young (Gen X) voters. There was already a fairly high floor for how Republican they started out as and they got moreso with age.

[Bootes Void]

death of nirvana still affects them till this day.

In all seriousness, whenever i think of a conservative I think of a middle aged person not necessarily somebody old or young. Gen X could also be in their prime. earning years (40s to 50s), so they may become more conservative by default

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

I don't know what explains it, necessarily, but it's not surprising if you look at how well Reagan and GHWB did with young (Gen X) voters. There was already a fairly high floor for how Republican they started out as and they got moreso with age.

This also shows why it's important to split up the generations since Boomers born in the late-50s/early-60s + Xers born in the 60s seem to be much more conservative than Boomers born in the 40s/early 50s or Xers born in the 70s (especially after 1973).

The more conservative ones came of age and formed their political views during the stagflation of the 70s, backlash to the Civil Rights movement, malaise and détente, which discredited liberalism, as well as the economic boom of the 1980s and resurgence of national prestige, which they attributed to conservatism under Reagan. Meanwhile, early Boomers were more shaped by Vietnam and Civil Rights, while late Xers turned away from Reaganomics with the recession of the early-90s, and away from cultural conservatism with the rise of the Religious Right and aggressive foreign policy after the fall of the USSR.

(of course, this is a bit simplified)

[Del Tachi]

Only 26 percent of Gen X supports the BLM movement....Gen X'ers hate "movements," you should just leave them alone.  These kids were raised on the streets

[Samof94]

This doesn’t really apply to latter day Gen Xers(who were born in the late 70’s), and were teenagers during the 90’s. They tend to vote more like millennials.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

This doesn’t really apply to latter day Gen Xers(who were born in the late 70’s), and were teenagers during the 90’s. They tend to vote more like millennials.

WRONG. /Trump voice

Anyway, Xennials or "The Oregon Trail Generation" is a thing.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

Only 26 percent of Gen X supports the BLM movement....Gen X'ers hate "movements," you should just leave them alone.  These kids were raised on the streets

We just distrust government, as it's never done anything good for us and don't believe it ever will.

[Samof94]

This doesn’t really apply to latter day Gen Xers(who were born in the late 70’s), and were teenagers during the 90’s. They tend to vote more like millennials.

WRONG. /Trump voice

Anyway, Xennials or "The Oregon Trail Generation" is a thing.

They are kind of their own sub-generation. Many could vote for Gore but not Clinton.

[Hope For A New Era]

Their "political formative years" were under Reagan, the greatest actor-president/scam artist who ever lived.


This is why Gen Z will be extremely Democratic, by the way. Becoming politically aware just in time to see Trump and then Biden elected.

[TML]

The older members of this generation mostly came of age during the Reagan/Bush 41 administrations. These were mostly popular Republican administrations, so this cohort tends to be Republican-leaning (Remember that 1992 exit polls indicated that Clinton's best age group was not the under 30 group but the over 65 group - which was the Greatest generation).

On the other hand, the younger members of this generation mostly came of age during the Clinton administration, which was a popular Democratic administration, which made this cohort Democratic-leaning.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Their "political formative years" were under Reagan, the greatest actor-president/scam artist who ever lived.


This is why Gen Z will be extremely Democratic, by the way. Becoming politically aware just in time to see Trump and then Biden elected.

Ehh only for the older Gen Z but at least half of Gen Z are not of voting age yet

[Samof94]

The older members of this generation mostly came of age during the Reagan/Bush 41 administrations. These were mostly popular Republican administrations, so this cohort tends to be Republican-leaning (Remember that 1992 exit polls indicated that Clinton's best age group was not the under 30 group but the over 65 group - which was the Greatest generation).

On the other hand, the younger members of this generation mostly came of age during the Clinton administration, which was a popular Democratic administration, which made this cohort Democratic-leaning.

Also, the 90’s was a big shift socially from the 80’s as well. Xenials grew up with VHS tapes and homosexuality was at least somewhat tolerated socially relative to previous decades.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Only 26 percent of Gen X supports the BLM movement....Gen X'ers hate "movements," you should just leave them alone.  These kids were raised on the streets

Gen X'ers are certainly the least 'movement-oriented' generation dating back to the Silenters. Sure, they had the best music. They got in first on vidya. They remember The Simpsons at its prime. Anime and video porn hadn't yet rotted society's collective mind to the core. Overall, they were the 'cool' generation. They were also the last generation one can reasonably say had a better shot at life than their parents did. But politically, they just were never there.

Now they're all firmly at middle age and most of them are simultaneously taking care of both their kids and their aging parents. What a waste.