The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End

by Neil Howe

Apparently, even the mere threat or suggestion of disaster, disorder, epidemic disease, or economic loss fosters a spirit of solidarity. People respond by growing more judgmental in favor of in-group norms, more inclined to follow in-group rules, and more biased against out-group presence. According to other experiments, simply reminding people that they must someday die has the same effect. Thoughts of death, according to a leading “mortality salience” researcher, motivate behaviors that “contribute to nationalism, prejudice, and intergroup aggression, as well as prosocial behavior and cultural achievements.” To use cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand’s terminology, any perceived threat to people’s personal security tends to make their society “tighter.”