The Fourth Turning

What a fascinating and original concept!

I was first introduced to the idea of “cycles” of history from I think a news article or a blog post somewhere, but at last read the original source text… and it’s equal parts philosophy and history, tracing the cycles of Western culture from the 1500s, though the late 1990s, when this book was written. They make the argument that, with only one exception that I recall, generations in 20-year increments follow the following patterns: Heroes (those who come of age during a time of major upheaval and crisis), then Artisans (those who come of age in the “high” time that follows the upheaval, a time of rebuilding the outward structures of society that were so recently either dismantled or in peril), then Prophets (those who come of age in the “awakening” period that follows the high — a time when people stop thinking only of the external structure of the world, and the pendulum begins to swing back the other way, toward internal and spiritual inner values), and then the Nomads (who come of age during the “unraveling,” the period in which the structure of society begins to come apart at the seams, leading to the next crisis.)

Each “seculum,” or full turn of this cycle, thus takes approximately 80 years, give or take. Someone who lives a very long life may live to see the beginning of the next seculum. The only exception they note is that during the Civil War, there was no “hero” generation–I think because there was no external enemy. Rather, the seculum in that case went straight from nomad to artisan during the Reconstruction period. But otherwise the cycle is very consistent.

They spend the first several chapters detailing the archetypes of each generation, giving examples from literature (fascinating how well this maps to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, too, where most stories involve young hero archetypes being mentored by the older prophet archetype, a half seculum ahead of him, helping to remind him of the inner spiritual values to guide him in his external fight). Then they trace history from the 1500s in England on into the New World, right up to the present day. I listened to the book, but could easily go back through and read a kindle version so I could highlight and make notes.

Apparently the book gained popular acclaim after the 2008 economic crisis hit, since the authors’ prediction was that the millenial “fourth turning” should arrive and last somewhere in the ballpark of 2005-2026. They were eerily accurate.

My rating: *****

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