how extreme is the gerontocracy in our culture?

[hayran]

are there any societies out there dominated by the "elders" to the extent that we are? like 60% of somalia is under 15, yet it feels like "the youth" do not exist at all, except for when their bodies are being counted.

diasporas say the problem is "qabiilism" but won't come to the realization that qabyaalad is a socio-political manifestation of the gerontocracy.

if the bulk of your strongest and most able demographic (the young men) are unhappy with the way things are, you will not have a stable society. the early ICU and the aptly named al shabaab knew this cultural flaw somewhat and they exploit it. in modern somalia that's the option if a young man wants to rebel against the status quo. yet the clan (the tyranny of old people) still remains, it still has power and it still doesn't care for its youth. the youth from all corners of somaliweyn are dreaming about fleeing to better and wealthier countries. the FGS constantly fails to get the youth to believe in its "vision" (it doesnt actually have one other than which old guy gets the kursi) so we are stuck in a death loop

i do not think any other place gets away with a 64% youth unemployment, a somali ruler can simply just ignore the future generations wants. it's free reign for them to loot the state for own pleasure, the suffering of their subjects just doesn't register to them.

 

[The truth seeker]

As the long as the clan system of “elder ”is in place in Somalia the only way a young leader will rise to the top is through a brutal military coup like what was common in the Cold War in the third world

We need a strong young leader like JFK or Lee Kuan yew in his prime to put our country as the new African powerhouse and regional power

The type of leadership were missing out on

 

[hayran]

As the long as the clan system of “elder ”is in place in Somalia the only way a young leader will rise to the top is through a brutal military coup like what was common in the Cold War in the third world

We need a strong young leader like JFK or Lee Kuan yew in his prime to put our country as the new African powerhouse and regional power

The type of leadership were missing out on

in somaliweyn as a whole, a military coup just isnt possible if you don't have the approval of another clique of these old people going by their old ways. these people are only motivated by clan allegiances and they will turn on this apiring hero the second he stops giving them special treatment. such a leader will never be a real sovereign under these circumstances, the young men are totally under the control of their elders and their authority is never questioned. its deep rooted. somalia is really just a bunch of competing gerontocratic tribes with jihadis in the middle. our first run of modernism via soycialism failed with siad barre and was ultimately defeated by 'the old ways'.

ICU and later al shabab, and their prototypical islamist groups were also another try. salafi islamism is actually a lot more progressive than the traditional clan system if you really think about it, which is how it recruits minority and weak clans as it grants them protection and rights they wouldnt have under the current social system. but it looks like this will lose too