My Hopes for Gen Z

In the midst of decline, young Americans have a golden opportunity.

There is a line that periodically resurfaces online: “hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” It’s a modern riff on an old idea, set out by Ibn Khaldun in the fourteenth century. The founders of dynasties are formed and strengthened by privation. The prosperity they create for subsequent generations softens and weakens their heirs, who then lose the wisdom their forefathers cultivated through struggle. The cycle makes sense, and it is evident throughout history. I believe we are at the start of a new cycle now.

My generation—Gen X—and the Boomers before us are, regrettably, the weak men. We inherited the good times: a high-trust society, functioning civic institutions, a confident culture, and an economy that rewarded hard work. More significantly, we inherited a distinct moral heritage. We came of age in the years when the United States was still a Christian country in a meaningful sense.