The timebomb facing the west

Protestors in the west have taken to the streets in outrage against the possibility that the Islamic regime in Iran – a regime that imprisons, tortures and murders its own citizens – might be toppled.

Yet many of those same voices openly support dismantling Israel – the Middle East’s only functioning democracy.

It seems like a strange contradiction but the explanation is simple. The world has changed – not just politically, but also demographically.

Forty or fifty years ago Israel was widely admired across the West. Public opinion saw it as a small nation fighting for survival – a country that had earned the right to exist after centuries of persecution of the Jews.

But today, in many circles, that mood has changed. Why? Because the ‘public’ has changed. Gen Z (those born after 1997) now make up 15-20% of voters in the west. Their parents, the Millennials (those born after 1981) make up 25-30% of voters. And these people form their opinions very differently to prior generations.

A generation ago ‘news’ came from a small number of outlets that generally presented competing perspectives. Schools and universities taught history and politics in ways that allowed students to examine evidence and reach their own conclusions.

That environment no longer exists. Information is now fragmented across thousands of sources, many of which openly promote only one worldview. Universities reflect similar intellectual monocultures. And for younger audiences, social media has compressed the process for forming an opinion from considered argument to the impression made in the few seconds that it takes to read a meme.

The result is a shift from evidence-based opinion to tribal alignment. Views are adopted, not on intellectual merits, but because they signal belonging to a movement or peer group.

This explains the rapid rise of ideologically aligned movements and causes in the west, and the willingness of large groups to rally around slogans rather than evidence. And based on current demographics – that trend will accelerate.

Traditionally, as people aged, their idealistic views shifted as careers, mortgages and kids focused the mind on practical realities. There’s an old saying: “If you’re not a socialist at 20 you have no heart; if you’re still one at 40 you have no brain.”

But in a society dominated by memes, populist ideology and social-media tribes – where there is no earlier point of wisdom to defer to (the stuff we used to learn growing up) – most of these new voters will continue to place higher value on simplistic ideals and the need to belong to their collective. Increasingly, as we reach a demographic tipping point, these people will vote for policies that work directly against their own long-term interests.

I fear that point is closer than we realise.

If you want to understand how these shifts are already affecting the West – register for early notification of the launch of my upcoming book at www.prophecyshock.com