Generational Thinking

The news doesn’t get much better than this for the speculative traders who dwell in the moment and the tax cuts for the rich are the capstone. On the other-hand it might be a time when long term thinking is of utmost importance for investors.

Strauss and Howe have done a series of studies and produced a number of books on generational thinking in the past 20 years.  I have four of their books and while they are a tough read in terms of a lot of detail the concept is probably the most important aspect.  And that concept is the study of generations and how people handle life and economics based on the history that they have accumulated.  So time marches on in a big cycle and looking back one can look and anticipate the next turn of the generations.  At times I have mentioned Strauss and Howe’s work.  The 72 year long economic cycle with 17.6 year quarter cycles that I tend to follow is a take on that approach.

Jim Quinn is one of the disciple’s of the approach and one of his current topics can be read here.  It can have a rather dark tone in places, but is a good read on history and concept.

Will 2012 Be As Critical As 1860?

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-will-2012-be-critical-1860