The Weight of Waiting: How Young People Are Right to Be Angry

The notion that the young are entitled to be angry is no longer just a sentiment; it’s a statistical reality. As we teeter on the precipice of a new decade, the consequences of our collective inaction have become starkly apparent. We’ve created a system where the privileged few reap the rewards while the majority struggle to make ends meet, with the planet itself paying the ultimate price.

The past two decades have been marked by a series of disappointments for young people worldwide. The Arab Spring’s promise of democracy and reform was met with brutal suppression; Occupy Wall Street and similar movements in Europe were co-opted or ignored; climate activists like Greta Thunberg are now being forced to confront the harsh reality that their leaders’ words are rarely matched by deeds.

Millennials in the US have inherited a mountain of debt – over $1 trillion in student loans alone. Meanwhile, their parents and grandparents reap the benefits of a system rigged in their favor. By 2018, millennials held just 3% of US wealth at age 35, compared to over 20% for baby boomers.

The most insidious aspect of this intergenerational crisis is its impact on our planet. We’ve burned through almost all of the CO₂ “budget” we had to avoid catastrophic warming; if we don’t drastically reduce our energy consumption or switch to clean alternatives, the next generation will be forced to pay the price.

Many of us are still stuck in a zero-sum game mentality, where decisionmaking is treated as a battle between generations. This is a recipe for disaster: when we fail to address intergenerational inequity, we risk creating a crisis that will leave no one unscathed.

To break this cycle, we must give young people a seat at the table in decisionmaking. Greta Thunberg and her fellow activists didn’t ask for permission – they simply showed up and demanded to be heard. As the World Economic Forum has demonstrated through its own initiatives, integrating youth perspectives into policy discussions can have a profound impact.

But this is just the beginning. We must also foster an intergenerational mindset in our decisionmaking processes. This means having grand debates about the future – not just incremental tweaks to the status quo but fundamental overhauls that prioritize the needs of all generations. If we’re serious about avoiding climate catastrophe, for example, we need to reorient our entire energy strategy around sustainability.

Some countries are already experimenting with this approach. Finland’s new coalition government is a notable example: at 34, Prime Minister Sanna Marin is one of the youngest heads of state in the world – but she’s also surrounded by senior ministers who bring their own unique perspectives and expertise to the table. This kind of intergenerational parity is not just desirable; it’s essential.

The future will be written by those who are willing to take bold action today. Will we continue to treat young people as an afterthought, or will we finally give them the seat at the table they deserve? The choice is ours – and if we don’t act soon, the consequences of our inaction will be too devastating to contemplate.

As the years go by and the problems mount, it’s becoming increasingly clear that business as usual won’t cut it. We need a fundamental shift in how we approach decisionmaking – one that prioritizes collaboration over competition, sustainability over short-term gains, and intergenerational equity above all else. The alternative is too dire to imagine; but with courage, creativity, and a willingness to listen, we can create a future where every generation has a stake – and a say – in shaping our collective destiny.