ABSTRACT
It has been said that old age is young. What Paul Baltes (e.g., 2001), the originator of this paradoxical statement, was referring to, is the emergence of “old age” as an issue for many current societies. In addition, it is fascinating to see that old age—which has never been of central interest to our science, culture, and society—has assumed a position of preeminence in all of these spheres around the globe. The “aging revolution” which silently began in the first half of the twentieth century as part of a much broader “demographic revolution,” has recently become a “loud” and obtrusive societal trend. In fact, this development has culminated at the turn of the millennia with age-related economic, societal, and political discussions topping the agenda not only of many welfare states but other political systems as well. In parallel, professional gerontologists, frequently seen as practicing an “esoteric” branch of science not long ago, are gaining increasing recognition as those operating in the eye of the hurricane, that is known as the aging revolution.
