As is the generation of leaves, so to of men:
At one time the wind shakes the leaves to the ground
but then the flourishing woods
Gives birth, and the season of spring comes
into existence;
So it is with the generations of men, which
alternately come forth and pass away.
– Homer, The Illiad, Book Six

Not bad for poetry, eh?

How bout this one?
Hard times create strong men,
Strong men create good times,
Good times create weak men,
Weak men create hard times.

I'm going to talk about this meme, and it's relation to Strauss and Howe's Generations theory. I'll start by saying that these ideas are generalizations that can be used to describe situations at large, but that the specifics of any event are their own, and must be dealt with on their own merits!

As I go over these ideas, think about this meme in terms of the "standard" political axis as well.

“All human things are a circle.” -Inscription upon the temple at Athens

The Strauss–Howe generational theory, created by authors Bill Strauss and Neil Howe, is NOT where the meme originated, but it's going to be interesting to compare and contrast the two ideas.

Strauss and Howe laid the groundwork for their theory in their 1991 book Generations, which tries to sort history into cycles based on the interaction of two elements; generations and turnings. They claim that there are four generational archetypes that repeat in the same way each cycle, which is about every 80 to 100 years. These generations then are formed in character by four historical turnings that happen every 80 to 100 years, as well. What happens in each generation/cycle forms the next step, and so on, until the events and characters simply repeat!

The four generational archtypes:

• Prophet
• Nomad
• Hero
• Artist

The four historical turnings are:

• High (First Turning)
• Awakening (Second Turning)
• Unraveling (Third Turning)
• Crisis (Fourth Turning).

I'll spare you the detailed matrix of definition and interaction. I've added some links to explore below for anyone that wants to get a more detailed idea of the cycles.

What I find interesting is the 4 facet nature of these cycles, which corresponds with the Hard Times, Strong Men meme, as well as the same cyclical nature of that meme. It's even more interesting to throw in the concept of the 2-axis political chart, and it's own 4 quadrants!

I will give you one example of this, provided by The Art of Manliness (a great site, btw)

Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club is a perfect example of Gen X masculinity: in order for manliness to mean anything, the world needs to go to pot first so men can use their innate masculine traits again.
The Art of Manliness

But is it accurate?

Strauss and Howe have been criticized for overgeneralization and a lack of empirical data, which must be recognized. However, Strauss claims that

The generational rhythm is not like certain simple, inorganic cycles in physics or astronomy, where time and periodicity can be predicted to the second. Instead, it resembles the complex, organic cycles of biology, where basic intervals endure but precise timing is difficult to predict

As I noted before, we can use models like this to recognize patterns and to describe events in general. These are ideas, not a horoscope chart ;>

And like Jack's Angry Fight Club above, most of us would like to define where we are now, and what to do next. We look for step-to-step instructions, instead of recognizing that the lessons of the past are the patterns of what out great-great-grandfathers did before us...not in read-and-react playbook!

Bill Strauss noted in a C-SPAN interview

People are looking for a new way to connect themselves to the larger story of America. That is the problem. We've felt adrift over the past 10 years, and we think that the way history has been presented over the past couple of decades has been more in terms of the little pieces and people are not as interested in the little pieces now. They're looking for a unifying vision. We haven't had unifying visions of the story of America for decades now, and we're trying to provide it in this book.
Host: Brian Lamb (14 April 1991). "Generations: The History of America's Future". Booknotes. C-SPAN. Retrieved 21 October 2012.

Just for shits and giggles, I'll note that I was born in 1969, making me a nomad.

The Nomad’s main societal contributions are liberty, survival, and honor.

I can name whole legions of my classmates who shunned those values

I might like to believe the theory or the meme, but I found another quote which makes more sense in choosing how to live...

Strong men would simply assume hard times are upon them and take to doing something about it. Externalizing that now is any later in the cycle just reveals weakness of character.

References

Strauss–Howe generational theory
The Generations of Men: How the Cycles of History Shape Your Values, Your Idea of Manhood, and Your Future

My Books