ABSTRACT
The “generation-gap” concept, invoked to account for the apparent rebellion of young people, commands the attention of various groups of social scientists. One group considers the “generation-gap” too wide to be bridged (e.g. Friedenberg, 1965, 1969; Feuer, 1969) and predicts that tension between an exploitative older generation and youth will escalate into open conflict before long. Bettelheim (1965) goes so far as to say that rebellion is a necessary concomitant of personal growth. He argues that factors that traditionally mitigate generational conflict have become moribund or weak; the older generation is no longer a powerful resource for coping with the world. To become an adult a young person simply has to rebel. Feuer (1969) argues that gerontocratic power structures and the failure of the older generation to resolve current problems makes inter-generational conflict almost inevitable. Similarly, Musgrove (1965, 1970) maintains that because of high survival rates positions of power and respon sibility are not quickly vacated. The demand and opportunities for young people are thus reduced, so there is a “power struggle” between young and old.
