Excellent Conversation: Ageism as a Direct Result of Capitalism

Thanks to a young guy by the name of William Gillis for leading me to an excellent little conversation (very short and very direct) at Amor Mundi under the heading Longevity is Class Struggle.  My favorite part of the exchange occurs at the end (so far):

D:  It makes plenty of sense that a lot of what manifests as “ageism” is actually a kind of economic phobia — non-wealthy older people are considered (like disabled people, regardless of whether or not they would classify themselves as “disabled”) to be “bad investments” with regard to employment, medical care, other forms of support, etc.

G:  Much of what goes on in the work world under the name “age discrimination” is more like discrimination against anyone perceived as being not cheap, expendable, easily bullied into overwork and being mature enough to see through the bullshit produced by the 25 year old MBAs who run the place…

Another good line, also by above-referenced G (Greg):

I have to say that the “warehousing” of aging people seems to me to largely result from the intense propaganda coming out of corporate America in favor of the isolated nuclear family as the basic unit of society. 

Greg goes on to talk about how people are ridiculed for living with parents when they actually might be taking care of said parents.

I would add that there is also a huge amount of prejudice against people building different kinds of households outside of the prescribed nuclear family unit, whether for economic or social needs, especially when they get past a certain age.  That becomes quite apparent to anyone who has needed to find a roommate or multiply shared housing situation but who also happens to be middle-aged (a predicament that I personally am all too familiar with).  

And in the present society, the demands for time that are created by the need to work for a living, combined with the lack of anything resembling public community, help to encourage an atmosphere in which trying to find mutually supportive connections outside of the prescribed nuclear family is not only discouraged but nearly impossible.  This becomes especially clear as people get older.

How many people have lost friends because said friends ultimately felt that they had no time to maintain social connections outside of their nuclear family units and the demands of work and/or adult education, etc.?  I know I’ve gone through that.

Some people might just become comfortable, given the present conditions, living as relative recluses.  You can often count me in that group.  However, once again, this becomes very difficult due to outside pressures - the above problem re. needing a roommate is one example, as are other problems that come with trying to live paycheck-to-paychek as an individual without any spousal backup (or going through long periods of unemployment and being single as well - not to mention living without health insurance, whether or not you have a job). 

We hear a lot, especially from liberals and “progressives,” about the importance of supporting the “working family,” but there’s not much concern for the struggling single.  This could be in part because children can cost a lot of money, but I think there’s more to it than that.  Among both conservatives and liberals (but especially among liberals who want to appeal in some way to conservative voters), being single is simply looked down upon…

Especially as we get older…

At which point, if we still are single, in the present age, we should pay serious attention to the personal ads, i.e., advertisements, where people blatantly enter into a relationship market, looking for a good investment with profitable returns.  (And, I’m sorry to say, if you’ve ever looked at a bunch of personal  ads by women, it seems that most of them are blatantly looking to enhance or supplement their own financial condition and their ability to consume.)

But maybe I am digressing a bit here.

In any case, in many situations, it becomes clear that the actual physical changes are the least of our problems as we get older (though they do admittedly become bigger problems if we don’t have health insurance).  The much bigger problem is dealing with all the ideas and attitudes about aging that are so much part of our society.  And the above conversation helps to point out how most of that problem is a direct result of the demands made by capitalism. 

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P.S.  Maybe it would be appropriate to add one final thought here - because it’s another aspect of the same problem that can’t be ignored:  For women especially - and men increasingly - there is also a huge industry built around encouraging older people to hide their age - it’s called beauty, cosmetics, etc…

Thus, many aging people who can at all afford to do so will invest a lot of their  own money into an effort make sure that they are not perceived of as poor investments themselves.