The United States is an "oldigarchy" that is organized for the benefit of the aged at the expense of its youth, argues historian and law professor Samuel Moyn in his provocative study Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth--and What to Do About It. Defining gerontocracy as "the empowerment of the old," Moyn explores this insidious form of "elder rule" that, combined with democracy and capitalism, has stymied the U.S. In three succinct parts, Moyn gives an overview of elder rule, the current faces of gerontocracy--in the form of old politicians, old constituents, and old money--and solutions he thinks will bring about a new "intergenerational political compact."
Moyn bemoans the "slow wizening of political life" and singles out the statespeople growing older who refuse to retire and allow younger politicians a place in government. He identifies older voters as the "elder power behind the thrones" who have captured the political system; as a result, with their higher incomes and narrower focus on the present,this bloc distorts the nation's priorities and closes off a collective future for a younger and a more socioeconomically and racially diverse generation. Most of Moyn's proposed solutions are common sense, but some may raise eyebrows, such as an abolishment of the Senate and a return to mandatory retirement.
This slim work delivers hard truths about the outsize influence of the U.S.'s aging population in politics, while proposing a new road map for an equitable society. Gerontocracy is a surgical accounting of the damaging effects of prolonged elder rule that is sure to ruffle feathers. --Peggy Kurkowski, freelance book reviewer in Denver