Hm. NY Times takes a look at the “Milennial Makeover,” a book which theorizes that the future of American politics is being crafted by the Facebook pages of today:
Why are Millennials [those born since 1982] inclined to vote Democratic? Thanks to “their protected, structured and positively reinforced upbringing” (lots of quality time with their parents, lots of exercises in self-esteem) Millennials tend to be far more optimistic and group-oriented than their Gen X predecessors (the alienated generation sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials), and according to Mr. Hais and Mr. Winograd, they’re predisposed to be inclusive, empathetic and tolerant in their social outlook. “A large majority of Millennials endorses affirmative action programs (82 percent) as compared with two-thirds of older Americans,” the authors write, and “more than two-thirds of Millennial women” are opposed to the idea of women returning to traditional roles.
Millennials’ reliance on the Internet (technology that the Democrats have learned to exploit more quickly than their Republican opponents) and their passion for texting and instant messaging have political implications as well. In placing a heavy value on the opinion of friends and peers, the authors of this book suggest, Millennials are inclined to favor conclusions reached by decentralized decision making, and multilateral rather than unilateral policy making. Their proclivity for sharing their lives with thousands of others through MySpace and Facebook also makes them “the generation least perturbed by any potential restrictions on civil rights or invasions of privacy that might have occurred in fighting the war on terrorism.” As a more socially tolerant and less divisive Millennial generation becomes a larger part of the electorate, Mr. Winograd and Mr. Hais predict, “the power of social issues to drive our political debate will wane”: wedge issues will lose their effectiveness, and ideological divisions will give way to an emphasis on “successful governmental activism.” “Majorities,” they argue, “will coalesce around ideas that involve the entire group in the solution and downplay the right of individuals to opt out of the process.”
Not sure I think all of this is a good thing, particularly the bit about not being particularly disturbed as civil rights are curbed. But it does seem this demographic is the future of the Democratic Party - and it went overwhelmingly for Obama yesterday.
