In the Milky Way, within the Orion Arm, lies a small planet with abundant flora and fauna, where the life expectancy of the dominant species is up to 150 years old. Recent advances in technology have allowed its life span, and population, to rapidly escalate.
While the dominant species has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, its population has doubled in the last 50, stressing the planet’s resources and climate, and highlighting the need for governance structures that emphasize sustainability. Those approaching or older than 65, the planetary life expectancy a generation ago, are the Aged. The median age is 30.
This planet, henceforth referred to as Planet of the Aged, while fragmented societally, is hegemonized by three superpowers, all ruled by Aged leaders. In Superpower B’s culture, the Aged are held in the highest esteem and followed unquestioningly, with respect for the Aged considered the highest virtue. In Superpower C, young adults are forced by the Aged autocrat to fight for territorial expansion in a disastrous war. Superpower A, the leading superpower and the only one ostensibly a democracy, is more complicated.
Superpower A’s leader is elected not directly by the citizens but through a convoluted regional process that gives outsized power to smaller regions where the Aged are over-represented. Anyone who will be under 22.2 years old by the end of the leader’s term is prohibited from participating. In recent elections none of the top candidates had technical skills exceeding that of a five year old. The leader commands a military comprised overwhelmingly of young adults who risk their lives unquestioningly at the direction of a leader 4.5 times their age.
Superpower A has a legislature dominated by the Aged, where seniority systems determine power, and there are no term limits. The upper chamber is named after the phrase old man. Young adults are forbidden by the constitution to serve in the legislature or become the region’s leader. The judiciary is comprised predominantly of the Aged who serve for life.
The overwhelming fiscal activity of Superpower A is to tax younger citizens and redistribute the money to the Aged, who receive income and benefits for life. Even though life expectancy has increased dramatically and the Aged receive much more than was ever planned, the government payments are considered entitlements. The tax regime has over 100 provisions that favor the Aged. Local districts tax younger citizens to pay their retired Aged workers, and redistribute money from younger, more vibrant areas to where the Aged live. Thousands of other regulations adversely affect young adults, with those relating to housing being especially punitive. Public investment in modern infrastructure is woefully insufficient, and the major public works that are completed are paid for by borrowing and foisting the obligation, including interest, onto the next generation. Equal pay for equal work is rare, while wage scales rooted in seniority are the norm. There is no intergenerational equity as the Aged have, on average, 10 times the net worth of young adults.
Planet of the Aged is threatened by climate change and natural resource shortages caused by the dominant species. The conflict pits planet-wide extractive industry conglomerates, controlled by the Aged, versus young adult activists, the most prominent of whom is 21 years old.
Planetary wealth is concentrated within certain privileged regions and sub-groups, which are much older than average. With tax and other public policies favoring the Aged alongside rapidly growing life expectancies, wealth inequality between the Aged and the young is increasing. Much of the Aged acquired wealth and power during prior times of increased discrimination, and as a result the wealthy and powerful Aged are less diverse than the overall population. Superpower A and other wealthy regions, all gerontocracies, have demonstrated little interest in addressing planetary inequality.
While young adult unemployment is a planetary crisis, the Aged justify their dominant roles in commerce, government, and other dominant institutions by citing their vast experience, the importance of which is grossly overstated. In reality, the Aged sustain their outsized power through wealth, political influence, and personal connections, as opposed to merit earned through experience. The extra experience of the Aged often does not compensate for the modern education, technical capabilities, diversity, and fresh perspectives of young adults, and certainly does not justify a tenfold difference in net worth.
On Planet of the Aged, among young adults, preventable deaths far outnumber deaths by natural causes. Suicide, homicide, vehicle crashes, and regional wars are leading causes of young adult mortality, while the overall planetary increase in life expectancy has been driven by extending the lives of the Aged though disease management and prevention. Wealth inequality is a leading predictor of mortality across all age groups.
On Planet of the Aged, young adults appear to accept their subjugation, although climate change is a planet-wide young adult concern. Almost all are focused on day-to-day struggles. Many feel hopeless in light of intractable economic situations. Belief that their governments will go broke before they retire and receive a pension is widespread. Superpower A’s government defines age discrimination as discrimination only against the privileged Aged, and not the disadvantaged young adults. Beauty standards within the dominant species favor the young, which motivates the Aged to assert their sense of entitlement.
Planet of the Aged is an advanced civilization with superior technological capabilities. The outlook is for increased levels of strife fueled by unsustainable activities related to climate, natural resource utilization, insufficient intergenerational investment, and unequal wealth allocation. Their top scientists are in search of a unified field theory, a single framework that can explain all of the universe’s fundamental forces. But they cannot figure out this single framework that explains their own unsustainable practices.