The Generation Game

by David McWilliams

From the author's How big is your piece of the pie? After ten years of a boom and on the eve of a downturn, Irish society has been turned on its head by a Generation War. The clear winners have been the middle-aged Jagger Generation. They have been enormously enriched by the property boom, creating a new class of Accidental Millionaires. The younger generation – the cash-strapped Jugglers – will be badly exposed as the credit wave recedes. The Bono Boomers, wedged between the winners and losers, are not about to grow up just because the economy turns down. They’ve too many important dates to keep, like ‘designer camping’ at the Electric Picnic. The Bono Boomers are Ireland’s first ‘permalescents’ – a permanently adolescent generation, too young to be old, too old to be hip. When the Botox Economy is laid bare and the financial filler of others people’s money becomes evident, this Generation Game will play itself out as the Jaggers, Jugglers and Bono Boomers struggle to maintain their slice of a diminished pie. However, the slow-down gives us the opportunity to take stock. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Taking a trip around the globe from Shanghai to New York, from Latin America to Central Europe, we can learn from history and appreciate that Ireland has a unique economic our Global Tribe. If we exploit the demographic potential of the Diaspora, we can re-invigorate the nation. The twenty-first century gives us the opportunity to see the island of Ireland as the cradle of a global nation which extends worldwide and is gelled together by the shared experience of the Tribe. The prosperity of future Irish generations is based on harnessing the collective power of past generations. This is the global Generation Game.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ireland

296 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2005

Reviews

[Conni Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself was quite interesting, especially reading it now in retrospect. The writing style, however, leaves an awful lot to be desired. The author is especially fond of writing out whole paragraphs of examples.

"No music shop can do without them. They are the ones who buy all the cds, those Cream back-catalogues, top-of-the-range ipods, corporate boxes as well as Mini Coopers. They are the people who made Reeling in the Years one of the bestselling cds ever. They know words to 'An Dearg Doon', make the annual pilgrimage to the Vibe for Philo and consider nuclear power to be the spawn on the devil, while holding up France (Europe's biggest user of nuclear power) as the cradle of the Republican civilisation.

They were Ireland's first hippies and Ireland's revolutionary generation. They made Carnsore our Woodstock, drove Citroen 2CVs with 'Atomic Power,Nein Danke' stickers, picketed the British embassy, marched at Wood Quay, took condom trains and manned the 1970s' barricades."

It's interesting the first few times, but by page 100 it wears a bit thin.
Otherwise a good read though.

[Frank Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is really very outstanding. It was eerie reading it in 2009, since we are now seeking much of what the author predicted in 2007. He is very astute yet blunt, sometimes ride and often very funny. I had planned to rate the book much more highly, however the author completely ran out of steam in the last few chapters. He started to pontificate and be much, much, much too repetitive. For the fist 80%, I didn’t want to put the book down, yet the last 20% was boring and dreary.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a social commentary than an economics book - but for us ex-pats in Ireland it gives a good compare/contrast with the present day Ireland (if a very jaded view) to what things were like in the 80's and 90's.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering when this was published (the inside of my edition says 2007 rather than 2008 on the page here), this bopk is not as bad as he rating suggests. I think this has the potential to be an important book for either economics or history sudents in a few years.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so scary to realize the game is applicable to any nation, what's even worse, the game is already on. Fantastic piece of study with an in-your-face attitude of the author. It's a keeper.