Generation We

Generation We: How Millennial Youth Are Taking Over America and Changing Our World Forever (2008) is a work of political polemic by American author Eric Greenberg, written with Karl Weber. It analyses the influence millennial voters increasingly wield in American politics and calls for its readers to unite behind an environmental political platform.

The book opens with Greenberg briefly recounting the spiritual journey that led him to take up political campaigning and write his book. From here, he summarizes his reasons for placing his faith in the millennial generation. First, he points out, millennials outnumber baby boomers both in the US and worldwide. Second, he argues, the millennials are a “special” generation, characterized by sober selflessness and progressive values.

The first half of the book sets out to describe “Generation We” and its attitudes, based on survey data. Chapter 1, “This Moment in History,” describes the generational divide. Chapter 2 introduces “Generation We.” In addition to the size and diversity of the millennial generation, Greenberg sees as central to his program the fact that millennials are “self-aware,” that is, they have a stronger sense of their shared identity as a generation than their forebears.



Greenberg goes on the describe that identity. He argues that millennials are internationalist in outlook, skilled with technology, optimistic and progressive, socially responsible, “innovation-minded,” and politically engaged. Greenberg zeroes in on the progressive values of Generation We, arguing that millennials are more liberal, tolerant, and green than their forebears. He stresses that millennials are pacifistic in their international outlook.

Meanwhile, Greenberg points out, millennials are vulnerable to economic anxieties. He argues that the burden of debt and the failures of the American healthcare system particularly affect millennials and that millennials are better equipped than their forebears to recognize these issues as the result of mismanagement by central government.

Nevertheless, millennials remain idealistic about the possibilities offered by politics, even as they are frustrated by the failures of the current political system. This has led to a sense that younger voters are “post-ideological,” not partisan but instead interested in finding practical solutions to the problems of American society.



Chapter 3 proceeds to outline these problems, focusing on climate change, the US healthcare system, the defunding of education, the national debt, and the erosion of civil liberties. Greenberg argues that Generation We inherits a world “in peril.” However, there is also cause for optimism in the new world. Technology offers new possibilities for collective action. Furthermore, Greenberg argues, the explosion of information achieved through technology serves to enhance millennials’ political frustration, by enhancing the contrast between what young people know and what they can do.

Rejecting the party-political divide in US politics, Chapter 4 argues that it has ceased to serve younger voters (and, indeed, all voters). Greenberg argues that the values of the Constitution have been left behind and that there is room for a new progressive party in American electoral politics.

Chapter 5 explores the ways in which millennials are already shaking up politics. Greenberg points out that millennial voters have already swung elections, while activists and responsible entrepreneurs have brought about positive change on a number of issues. He describes several specific campaigns that have been effective.



Nevertheless, he argues in Chapter 6, millennials will need to forge common cause with other generations to effect large-scale change. He identifies two cross-generational groupings in which common cause can be found: the “cultural creatives” who prioritize artistic and spiritual values, and the “justice seekers” who are horrified by worsening inequality.

Chapter 7 sets out Greenberg’s program, which he calls “Project FREE.” The centerpiece of the program is to produce technological innovations that will allow the economy to move beyond its reliance on fossil fuels. Pointing to the “technology forcing” of the Manhattan and Apollo Projects, Greenberg argues that a similar federal program to invent a radically new energy source is our only way out of the climate crisis. He argues that it would have many knock-on benefits, boosting the economy and reducing worldwide competition for resources.

However, Greenberg’s program also has a number of other platforms: environmental regulation, healthcare for all, quality education for all, balancing the budget to eradicate national debt, fully funding Social Security, eliminating trade imbalances, rebuilding the American manufacturing sector, and repealing the Patriot Act. He adds that this is just a beginning. His goal is to get the ball rolling, not to set the program in stone.



Greenberg next discusses the primary obstacles to this program, focusing on vested corporate interests and their power over the news media. He argues that a responsible, resilient, and optimistic mindset is required to overcome these obstacles, and drawing on survey data he suggests that millennial voters have just the mindset required.

Chapter 8 turns to the major progressive movements of the past, seeking inspiration and precedent for his program. Greenberg examines events from the European Enlightenment and the American Revolution to the end of the slave trade and the progressive social movements of the 1960s.

Greenberg sets out some practical steps the reader can take. He recommends voting, seeking a political education, wielding consumer power, and organizing. The chapter closes with a cut-out checklist entitled “15 Minutes for Change,” outlining small practical actions the reader can take now.



The book closes with the “We Declaration,” a manifesto modeled on the American Declaration of Independence which summarizes the argument of the book.