THE THEORY - THE ARCHETYPES - THE SAECULUM

THE NOMAD ARCHETYPE

Living Nomad generations: Lost (born 1883-1900), Gen-X (born 1961-1981)

We remember Nomads best for their rising-adult years of hell-raising and for their midlife years of hands-on, get-it-done leadership. Their principal endowments are in the domain of liberty, survival, and honor. A lifecycle outline:

• As Nomads replace Prophets in childhood during an Awakening, they are left underprotected at a time of social convulsion and adult self-discovery.
• As alienated Nomads replace Prophets in young adulthood during an Unraveling, they become brazen free agents, lending their pragmatism and independence to an era of growing social turmoil. 
• As pragmatic Nomads replace Prophets in midlife during a Crisis, they apply toughness and resolution to defend society while safeguarding the interests of the young. 
• As exhausted Nomads replace Prophets in elderhood during a High, they slow the pace of social change, shunning the old crusades in favor of simplicity and survivalism.

To learn more about this theory, visit www.fourthturning.com.

From The Fourth Turning, William Strauss and Neil Howe, copyright 1996 Broadway Books.
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