Xenakis claims that it is the masses, not the politicians, who make the great decisions of history.
Four Eras
Generational Dynamics, based on the work of Bill Straus and Neil Howe, holds that every nation suffers a genocidal war every 80 years, a "crisis war.
A Crisis War is a time in which most people think that the very existence of their nation is at stake. When they end, crisis wars leave behind a fault line in the societies that have been traumatized. One such fault line was created between the North and the South during the Revolutionary War in the United States of America.
During a Awakening Era, people are reluctant to fight a war. They are, however, quite willing to protest against their parents. The year of 1967 was the cultural peak of America's last Awakening Era. It is interesting to note that, just a year later, the mood was already turning cynical (as can be seen in George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps). In that song, Harrison seems to be lamenting the failure of the revolution.
During a Awakening Era, people are reluctant to fight a war. They are, however, quite willing to protest against their parents. The year of 1967 was the cultural peak of America's last Awakening Era. It is interesting to note that, just a year later, the mood was already turning cynical (as can be seen in George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps). In that song, Harrison seems to be lamenting the failure of the revolution.
Another example of an Awakening Era: the Paris Commune of 1871.
China is in a period of unravelling today, as can be seen in the Hong Kong riots.
Silent Generation: Conformist, risk-averse.