The older we get, the more conservative we become?

[EddyF]

Just wondering if people believe this. I’m in my thirties and although I have always had real socialist views and I have always voted Labour, I am struggling with some of my current viewpoints which lean more to the conservative way. I think I have lost a bit of societal empathy and seeing things as a ‘dog eat dog world; everyone out for themselves’.

There are so many issues I see locally (London) that I just think not everyone can be saved. The services are stretched; high streets are depressing and people have too many needs and often those needs are not isolated and are multiple. I feel less empathetic and more “can’t you just help yourself”. There doesn’t appear to be a safety net or one that is efficient enough, which to my surprise, has harden me a bit. Maybe it is age😆

Although to be fair, they also made it easier to work under communism if you had kids. Weren't there free wraparound creches?

Our version of capitalism seems to want us to put in a 40 hour week, pay an absolute fortune to have the kids looked after,then pick them up and be perfect mums and housewives. And if you can't do this, you're a failure. Yay for the free West 🙄.

No - personally got more left wing as I’ve got older and more exposed to the
unfairness of society.

I'm not sure this is true for everyone. When I was young (teens), I was quite self centred and lived in my own little bubble whereas as I've got older I am far more aware of the issues and struggles facing other people. I also think that the younger people I know nowadays tend to be quite self centred, whereas older people I know tend to have a similar understanding and views as I do.

I was quite right-wing in my teens and early twenties . I got more and more left-wing after that, but have now (in my early 50s) started to slightly edge back a bit. I'd still call myself centre-left.

I'm quite left wing, always have been.

I think your attitude is quite commonplace now.

I think it's a very natural trajectory. As you get older, your responsibilities grow. I've never had so many bills to pay or so many people to look after. Therefore I resent it more when the government doesn't spend my money wisely.

I think more certain and/or fixed in your views, which may not necessarily be more conservative.

You were put in prison and, in many cases, forced into slave labour if you refused to work.

Not something we should aspire to IMO. I also grew up in a communist country and remember the empty shops, broken infrastructure, outdated technology and brainwashing very well.

Me too. I think it’s too late to change now.

I didn't say anything about aspirations. I am simply highlighting what all the "commy" insults the minute someone mentions social justice are extremely misguided.

I've actually gone the opposite way as I've got older and been exposed to more of the world and different people.

No - I’m as left wing as I ever was, I’m also in my thirties. I could never align myself with what the Tories stand for.

It's true for me. My grand-parents told me I would wise up getting older and they were right. I still have as much societal empathy but it's now dosed with pragmatism.

But monarchy and the Tories stink!

tothelefttotheleft · Today 18:43

"I'm as left wing as I've always been."

I'm more left wing now than I ever was when younger.

Same

This

My friends and I have all moved to the left. I'm embarrassed by the selfish attitude I used to have when aligned with tory values.

Age is a strong predictor of political alignment and it’s not a recent phenomenon

I was a labour voter as a youth and have always had very left wing views. Raising my kids under the blight of a Tory government has done nothing to soften my views and seeing neo fascist riots on our streets has made me angry like i never was when when i was young. At this rate I'll be a fully fledged Marxist by the time I die.

My family certainly has. Talk about pulling up the ladder behind you. I'm 40 and I have not.

Decreasingly so. The average age of a turn to the right is now 70. As those of us over 70 drop off the twig it seems quite possible right wing politics will follow us.

Absolutely not. I've become much more of a feminist the older I become.

I don't think you get more conservative as you get older, I think get more intolerant of stupidity regardless of which end of the political spectrum it comes from. One becomes less idealistic and more grounded. I started out being very conservative agreeing with much of what Thatcher espoused and now I consider myself to be largely centre left. I recognise where Thatcher was right and more to the point where she was wrong. A lot of mistakes have been made in the last 45 years I'm afraid. While the left of centre has some pretty cracky thinking at times, I'm afraid that most damage to this country has occurred on the Conservative watch.

I'm a lifelong lefty and that is unlikely to change. I think I have a few beliefs "modern" leftists would disapprove of, but I think it's not my position that has changed.

I used to want to save everyone. I thought I could change the world with my job, and thought problems could be solved and I’d make a difference.

The naivety.

Now all I care about really is my own little family, I care about wider family and friends after this, but not much else. Nothing changes anyway.