Paul Taylor, the author of The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown, analyzes the changes that have taken place in the social, political, and cultural demographic structures of current American society, and tries to predict how those changes will affect future generations. The book illustrates the perspective of generations in relation to religion, technology, race, immigration, gender roles, marriage, and employment. The arguments in the book are based on public surveys and data from the Pew Research Center, an independent think tank that provides knowledge and data in social, political, and cultural fields, where Taylor is a senior fellow.

The book considers four generations of Americans characterized as: Silents (born 1928–45), Boomers (1946–64), Gen Xers (1965–80) and Millennials (1981–). However, it mainly focusses on Boomers and Millennials because they are the most populous generations. Thus they have a profound effect on the social, political, and economic fields of the nation. Millennials constitute the young population of the USA. They are trying to enter a highly competitive workforce, while Boomers are on their way to becoming retirees. After their retirement, Social Security and Medicare become the most significant welfare programs that support in them in their old age. However, those programs can also lead to an economic burden on the young. Because of the Boomers’ vast numbers and their expanding life spans, the taxes that Millennials will pay are going to increase. Some of the Boomers think that those programs are not sufficient to provide a comfortable life. Therefore they are not in favor of leaving their professions and tend to delay their retirement. The book asks, “How do we keep our promises to the old without bankrupting the young and starving the future?” (34). The book underlines the fact that Millennials might encounter financial problems in the future, and highlights the uncertainty surrounding whether they will be able to benefit from such welfare programs and maintain their current life standards when they get old. However, Millennials seem to be optimistic about their future, with many of them acknowledging the importance of such welfare programs.

Each generation experiences history, technology, lifestyle and social norms in its own political, cultural, social, and economic environment, which leads to the formation of its distinctive attitudes, roles, and behaviors. However, the book notes that economic hardship and social change do not necessarily turn the relationship between Millennials and Boomers into a showdown. In fact, those changes can create solidarity between Millennials and Boomers. One of the examples the book gives is that there has been a decline in the tradition of young people leaving their family homes when they reach adulthood. Within the Millennial generation, 40 percent of men and 32 percent of women continue to live with their parents, or, having left home for higher education, return to the family home after graduation. The reason for this is purely financial. Living with parents helps to ease the Millennials’ economic burden. Therefore they become less mobile and establish their social environment digitally. In the case of Boomers who live with their children, they feel safe when they are cared for by their children as they get older. Therefore such a relationship constructs a strong bond between Millennials and Boomers that lowers the possibility of generational clashes.

The book reflects the outcomes of changing generational attitudes towards the main social institutions such as marriage, religion, and family, all of which have latterly undergone major transformation. Graphs and charts in the book demonstrate that there has been a decrease in both marriage and fertility rates. This will affect the demography of the US as, unsurprisingly, the number of older people will increase, whereas the number of young will decrease. It will also lead to a shortage in the young workforce which supports social welfare programs for the old.

As the book suggests, younger generations are in favor of having fewer children compared to older ones. In order to keep the population young, immigrants would seem to be a solution because they have higher birth rates. The book expresses the opinion that immigrants contribute to the formation of a rich, racially mixed American society through marriage. It also claims that the white population is expected to lose their majority in the future, because immigrants do not mainly come from Europe, but from Latin America and Asia.

It is important to note that immigrants have a significant impact on US politics. The political parties need to develop policies for the immigrant electorate in order to ensure their votes, as immigrants are vast in number and their participation can clearly affect election results.

This was evident in the 2012 presidential election, when many immigrants supported the Democrats for their perceived sympathetic approach.

Whilst the graphs and charts, public surveys, and Taylor’s interpretation of data are the strengths of the book, it would have been more convincing if the book had been written with an overarching theoretical framework. Then arguments supported by the theory would reflect more objective propositions because analyses based only on numbers, surveys, observation and experience are not sufficient to anticipate the future of America and its generations. However, it is a good reference work for anyone wondering where the US is heading, and for the reader who wants to gain an insight into demographic studies, generational characteristics and the response of generations to the changing social, economic, political, and cultural trends of the USA.