'The Aftermath' by Philip Bump
Starting in 1946 and ending in 1964, the massive and unprecedented population spike called the Baby Boom continues to dominate discussions over America’s future, even as the number of Boomers continues to shrink, and their influence gradually diminishes. The Baby Boom is the subject of Washington Post columnist Philip Bump’s engaging book, The Aftermath.
No one anticipated the Baby Boom before it happened, but everyone now is wondering what will happen as the Boomers die out. Spiking birthrates delivered 76 million babies during the Boom’s first 19 years—an increase unexpected by future gazing experts. The Boom spurred an economic bonanza with thousands of new schools and subdivisions paving the way to a new market for consumer good egged on by a new medium for marketing, television. As children of depression and war, the parents of Boomers were unusually eager to pamper their children—especially if the parents were white and middle class.
Bump is well aware of the pitfalls of generational generalizations. The lines between age-based cohorts are not laid in concrete and are often devised by a news media in search of news (abetted by ad agencies searching for target audiences). Boomers were never monolithic. Bump prefers cohorts defined not but age “but shared experience,” but is continually forced back into familiar categories for shorthand. 1957 was the peak of the Baby Boom; Bump doesn’t investigate the distinctions between early and late Boomers—the gap between children in the ‘50s and children in the ‘60s. Racial identities aren’t immutable either. The definition of white expanded during the last century to include previously excluded Eastern and Southern Europeans. Bump speculates that the white label will soon encompass a portion of the Hispanic population.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
As Bump points out, Boomers have lost control over the direction of pop culture but continue to exert political sway beyond their numbers (they vote!) and hold the lion’s share of wealth even as younger generations rise into management. With some validity, Bump understands Trump’s popularity as the reaction by white Boomers afraid of losing their grip.
Wisely, given history’s many unexpected turns, Bump is hesitant to make predictions in the face of imponderables such a climate change and student loan debt. “I try to be optimistic,” he offers.
