THE RULE OF THE OLD
by Kenan Malik
This essay, on contemporary gerontocracy, was published in the Observer on 7 July 2024 under the headline “Biden, Putin, Xi, Modi: what is it that keeps old ideas, as well as old people, in power?”. “States when they are in difficulties or in fear yearn for the rule of the elder men”, wrote Plutarch, the first-century Greek historian and philosopher, as he pondered “whether an old man should engage in politics”. Only the old, he believed, possessed the wisdom granted by age, […]
Categories: International, Politics • Tags: aaron reeves, class politics, donald trump, gerontocracy, joe biden, plutarch, sam friedman, samuel moyn
Pandaemonium 