Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Charles Stross on Kids Today

Long-time readers know that Charles Stross is one of my favorite science fiction writers. His politics are hard to characterize, I’ve heard him described as a libertarian socialist, which strikes me as being something of an oxymoron. He says he votes Liberal Democrat. While he’s acknowledged that as a professional full-time writer he’s “effectively required to be a self-employed small businessman,"but also claims that he “never did care much for free market orthodoxy - all too often it’s a fig-leaf for inhumane greed.”

In a recent post, however, Stross reveals himself to be an instinctive capitalist:

In writing SF, I not only need to imagine what the future will be like — I need to anticipate what my future readers will enjoy reading.

In other words, he’s got to figure out how to maximize revenues from future consumers, which is precisely what any capitalist entrepreneur does,

Anyway, Stross takes note of Beloit College’s famous efforts to explain to the staff and faculty what the world looks like to an 18 year old (citing the 2006 list). Stross continues with a UK centric description of what the world looks like to an 18 year old:

An eighteen year old today was born in 1990.

They don’t remember Margaret Thatcher. John Major stopped being Prime Minister when they were seven. The huge political scandals of the last conservative government are history.

Labour are the natural party of government and fiscal prudence. They’re also in favour of nuclear weapons, privatization of what’s left of the public sector, and friends with George W. Bush (who is the only American president they really remember).

The Soviet Union, the East German Stasi, Nazi Germany, and Napoleon Bonaparte are all boogymen out of ancient history. The Apollo Project — wasn’t that an old Tom Hanks movie?

They probably remember 9/11 vaguely, and all the grown-ups being very upset. They were ten at the time.

The Simpsons have always been on Sky.

Kylie Minogue has always been a singer.

AIDS has been around forever, but there are meds you can take to cure it [not true, but a common misconception among the young].

Every adult had, and has always had, a mobile phone. They’ve had one of their own since they were eleven.

The internet has always been around. Cable or satellite TV has always been around. CDs and DVDs have always been around (and are boringly bulky). Freeview has always been around. iPods have been around since they were ten. They’ve never seen a Sony Walkman, though they’ve probably heard old farts mention them. And what did the coffin dodgers do with those big black round things, exactly?

Nobody they know expects to ever hold a job for more than three years.

Homosexuality has always been legal. Abortion has always been legal. The morning-after pill has always been available over the counter. Handguns have always been illegal.

Nobody they know who is under 36 and not already a home-owner expects to ever be rich enough to buy a house. The average house costs as much as a helicopter or a high-ticket Ferrari.

They’ll probably go to university, and come out of it with debts equal to two years’ worth of their starting salary. (Roughly what somebody twice their age paid for their first apartment.)

Lots of people take antidepressants. Everyone slashes themselves; it’s no big deal. (Statistics show a third of UK teens self-harm at some stage.)

They had their first drink when they were 11 or 12. They first had sex when they were 15 or 16. Only about 50-60% of them have passed their driving test yet, although 90% are planning to before they reach 20.

There have always been cameras in shops and schools and other public places, although there are more of them than there used to be. Old folks grumble about privacy, but really, you’re being watched wherever you are. If you don’t like it, get a hoodie.

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Anyone got anything to add? I’m in a list-making mood this week.

It’s a fascinating list. So what would we add?