The Geriarchy: How America Became a Nation Ruled by the Old and Why It Won’t Change
For decades, the United States has functioned as a geriarchy—a system where power is concentrated in the hands of the elderly, not because of wisdom or experience, but because the structures of power are designed to protect and perpetuate the rule of older generations at the expense of everyone else.
This is not about individual politicians being old. It is about a system that actively prevents the transfer of power to younger generations, ensuring that those who built and benefited from the current order remain in control until death.
Americans are told that democracy allows for generational shifts, that fresh ideas can rise through elections, that leadership is about representation. But in reality, power in the U.S. does not pass through elections—it is held, hoarded, and passed between the same class of political elites, decade after decade.
The result? A nation controlled by people whose policies will not affect them, who will not live to see the consequences of their decisions, and who ensure that younger generations inherit nothing but crisis.
How the Geriarchy Maintains Power
While it may seem like the dominance of elderly politicians is just a coincidence—“experience” being rewarded—the reality is far more structural. The system is designed to keep power concentrated in the hands of the old.
1. Lifelong Political Careers Ensure Power Never Transfers
The average U.S. senator is over 65 years old. The average member of Congress is in their late 50s to 60s.
The U.S. has no term limits for Congress. While presidents can serve only two terms, senators and representatives can—and often do—stay in office for decades.
Leadership roles in Congress are dominated by people in their 70s and 80s. The people deciding policy are often those who have been in government since the Cold War.
A system where power is held until death means that change does not happen until the ruling class is physically unable to hold onto it anymore. By the time new leaders rise, they are already part of the same cycle—conditioned by the system to maintain it.
2. The Wealth Lock: The Economic Structures Favor the Old
The dominance of the elderly in power is not just political—it is economic.
Older generations own the vast majority of wealth in the U.S.
Homeownership is nearly impossible for younger generations due to inflation, wage stagnation, and the housing market being controlled by older investors.
Social programs like Medicare and Social Security are fiercely protected by older politicians—but student debt relief, healthcare expansion, and rent control (which would benefit younger people) are constantly stalled.
Older generations vote to protect their own benefits while denying younger generations access to the same financial stability. They oppose policies like wealth taxes, rent control, and minimum wage increases because those policies threaten their accumulated power.
This is not just generational preference—it is generational gatekeeping.
3. Voting Power: The System is Built for Older Voters
Elections in the U.S. favor older voters in multiple ways:
Older people are far more likely to vote—which means politicians cater to their interests.
Gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the electoral college are designed to maintain the status quo, which benefits older, wealthier, white populations.
Younger candidates are often dismissed as “inexperienced,” no matter their policy knowledge, while older candidates are framed as “wise” even when they are out of touch.
Since politicians are only accountable to the people who show up to vote, the system naturally reinforces itself in favor of those who already hold power.
The Consequences of a Geriarchy
1. Policies Are Made by People Who Won’t Live to See Their Consequences
When politicians in their 70s and 80s write climate policy, economic plans, or foreign policy strategies, they are crafting a future they will never experience.
Climate policy is delayed and watered down because the people in power won’t live to see the disasters they’ve created.
War decisions are made without concern for long-term consequences because the politicians sending young people to war will not be affected.
The national debt, economic collapses, and social instability will all be inherited by younger generations—who had no say in the decisions that created these crises.
2. Stagnation and Resistance to Change
Because power is held by those who grew up in a completely different era, progress is intentionally slowed or blocked.
Internet regulation, AI policy, and tech laws are being written by people who struggle to use basic technology.
Drug policies are being decided by people who still think marijuana is a “gateway drug.”
Reproductive rights are being stripped by people who will never experience the consequences of forced birth.
A government run by people who refuse to adapt ensures that society remains trapped in outdated systems.
3. The Generational Divide Becomes More Hostile
Younger generations, despite being more educated, more diverse, and more connected than any before, are constantly blamed for problems they did not create.
Millennials and Gen Z are blamed for being “lazy” and “entitled” despite working more hours for less money in a system rigged against them.
Younger generations are told to “just work harder” and “save more” while inflation and wealth hoarding make that impossible.
The idea that “young people don’t understand how the world works” is used to dismiss any challenge to the current system.
This isn’t just generational tension—it’s a deliberate strategy to silence those who will inherit the failures of the current system.
Why the Geriarchy Won’t Change Without a Collapse
The U.S. political and economic system is designed to keep power consolidated in the hands of the same people for as long as possible. The only way real change happens is when:
Enough of the ruling class physically dies off that they can no longer hold onto power.
The economic system collapses to the point that generational wealth and gatekeeping structures are no longer sustainable.
Younger generations force radical systemic change through mass political, economic, and social upheaval.
Without a total restructuring of how power is distributed, the same cycle will continue:
Politicians will continue serving their own age group rather than the future.
Wealth will remain concentrated among those who already have it.
Younger generations will be forced to clean up the consequences of policies they never supported.
The U.S. is not a democracy. It is a gerontocracy, an oligarchy, and an economic caste system wrapped in the illusion of freedom.
Until the cycle is broken, America will continue to be ruled by those who refuse to pass the torch—because they were never going to in the first place.
Source List
Pew Research Center – The Age Divide in American Politics and Governance
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/10/age-divide-american-politicsBrookings Institution – How America Became a Gerontocracy
https://www.brookings.edu/research/america-gerontocracyHarvard Kennedy School – The Political and Economic Consequences of an Aging Ruling Class
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/research/aging-ruling-class-consequencesThe Atlantic – Why the U.S. Government is Run by the Oldest Generation in History
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/01/us-government-oldest-generationThe Guardian – How Young People Are Locked Out of Power and Wealth
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/us-young-people-locked-out-of-power
The U.S. isn’t just run by the old—it is designed to ensure they never let go.
