While the label of “Millenial” is ill-defined and overgeneralizes a demographic with a wide age range, the defining moments of this generation are definitely 9/11, the Global Financial Crisis, and the Great Recession.

For many, these events point to the frailty of neoliberalism, and without faith in the neoliberal institutions that dominate the world, it’s very difficult to have faith in the future.

But it’s not necessarily an abstract mindset, either. We live in a system where it’s normal to be let go from your employer after a few years or even after a few months. Where it’s impossible to buy a house where the jobs are unless you’re a trust fund kid.

If steady employment and home ownership—the promises of the American Dream—are totally out of reach unless you already have money, why would they engage in the Sisyphean task of trying to attain those goals?

The Bernie Sanders Moment: Brought to you by the generation that has no future • 2016 Mar 29 • Corey Robin • Crooked Timber