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Boomerism and the Neo-Boomer: Nostalgia for the Past

Boomerism or Neo-Boomer are terms I shall use to represent right-wingers and conservatives in the 21st century who, despite not necessarily being baby boomers themselves, espouse political and social views that align with stereotypical baby boomer philosophies, upbringing, and experiences from the 20th century. These individuals often talk about God, a return to religion, the nuclear family, and traditional family values like no sex before marriage or outside of wedlock. They champion privatisation with a nauseating admiration of laissez-faire capitalist leaders of the 1980s like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and are often stuck in the past; expressing a desire to “go back to how it was.” This nostalgia is for a time they never lived in but idealise as simple and pleasant.

They hold to typical gender norms, believing that strong men should care for women, and will even go so far as to deny science, embrace conspiracy theories, and reject vaccinations. These views are often espoused by young radicals like Candace Owens, who jumped from one bandwagon to the next, losing all integrity if she ever had any, and Andrew Tate, a despicable man of no veracity, who pushes a toxic ideal of manliness that appeals to disillusioned, likely virgin, young men; Ben Shapiro who uses his distinct charisma to carry his traditionalist arguments in the faces of his gullible audience. Gen X political figures like Liz Truss, still bitter and in denial about her rejection by the British public after embarrassing the country on the world stage; Tucker Carlson, who spreads misinformation and denies scientific facts and is ridiculously welcomed on large platforms like the Joe Rogan podcast; and Nigel Farage, one of the biggest conmen, grifters, and self-serving elites, who masquerades as a man of the people while serving his own interests.

The list is not exhaustive, and I already feel bad by including their names as I have no desire to promote them in any fashion, but for the sake of this essay, it is imperative that I include examples. Although some I listed are more contemptible than others, these individuals don’t just espouse boomer-esque view, they are instead even more deeply convicted. This is what I describe as Boomerism and the Neo-Boomer. These are people who were not born as part of the baby boomer cohort but feel a sense of nostalgia for a society where baby boomers dominated as young and older adults (from the 1960s to the 1990s). However, they ignore the reality that this period was not entirely sunshine and rainbows. They forget that much of the baby boomer generation was handed plenty of economic and social advantages on a silver platter following the atrocities of the First and Second World Wars.

Baby boomers could easily walk into jobs and afford a decent life on a low wage. They benefited from massive social housing booms, which were eradicated from the market for a bargain price when Thatcher sold social houses to boomers that already occupied them in the 1980s, leaving a massive housing shortage for future generations. The removal of rent control has resulted in insecure living situations, little disposable income, and increased homelessness. Baby boomers also lived during a time when medical science made tremendous advancements that helped them live longer and healthier lives. These are just a few examples of the advantages baby boomers enjoyed—advantages that most young people of the 21st century, starting from the bottom, could only dream about.

The Neo-Boomer is stuck in a distorted reality that doesn’t reflect the real world or the financial struggles faced by the unprivileged—a lack of privilege largely caused by the economic policies that the original baby boomers voted for. These include excessive privatisation, unregulated markets, the disguised dismantling of public services, anti-welfare schemes, and the god-awful Brexit calamity, among other things.

The Neo-Boomers think they are the underdogs. They want to be edgy by disregarding the hard-won rights of various subgroups, believing that women should return to the kitchen, gay marriage should be illegal, and autocrats should rule the state. They’d love it if everyone went back to wearing those god-awful suits every day, top hats, and spit-polished shoes. The views of the Neo-Boomers are more radical than those of the official baby boomers, making them a dangerous threat to progress and modern society as a whole. By clinging to outdated and regressive views, Neo-Boomers risk dragging society backward, undoing decades of social, technological, and economic advancements. They represent a resistance to the inevitable march of progress, and if left unchecked, their influence could have devastating consequences for the future.

*This essay is featured in the book, The Rise of the Radical Right.

*This essay was written in 2023-24

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