The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny

In the final chapter of Part 2, Strauss and Howe examine the prophetic vision they have for America in the years following their book’s 1997 publication. They predict that “[S]ometime around the year 2005, perhaps a few years before or after, America will enter the fourth turning” (272). They also suggest that the crisis era will start with a catalyst that might come in the form of a financial crisis, a global terrorist attack, a congressional stalemate over the federal budget, the spread of a dangerous communicable virus, or a war. They argue that “[T]he new mood and its jarring new problems will provide a natural end point for the unraveling-era decline in civic confidence” (274). From this, a new social contract and new civic order will arise.

Boomers will enter elderhood in the fourth turning as the prophet archetype. The authors predict that they will be better educated, more selfish, and much more numerous than the previous generation in elderhood. The 13th Generation will enter midlife in the fourth turning as the