The generations game

‘When the Cold War ended, we thought we were going to have a clash of civilisations,’ wrote the American author and businessman David Rothkopf. ‘It turns out we’re having a clash of generations.’ As the aftermath of last week’s ­Budget demonstrated, this clash is well under way in Britain. Behind it lies the idea that the baby-boomers have stolen their grandchildren’s future, hoarding all the property, accumulating debt and then running up NHS bills as they enjoy a retirement funded by the young.

This analysis was first advanced by the right, notably by the universities minister, David Willetts, in his book The Pinch. But the left bolted on its own conclusion: that it is time to tax the oldies, and claw the money back. This is the so-called ‘intergenerational fairness’ agenda, a political hybrid that could be one of the most dangerous ideas of our time. Once, the right would have dismissed the whole concept as un-conservative: don’t moan about what others have; go out and get your own.