ABSTRACT
The contemporary family is multigenerational. Each one of its generations belongs to a specific birth cohort whose destiny was shaped by a particular history, beliefs and values, level of economic growth, and stage of devel opment regarding social welfare policies. This destiny is influenced by the prevailing social conditions encountered at the time of entry into profes sional life, notably concerning the educational system and the labor mar ket. Successive cohorts do not have at the outset the same possibilities of employment or the same chances of social mobility. Research on cohorts, which represents a key to the understanding of social change (Riley, 1969), shows the evolution of beliefs, political behavior, social structures, and social mobility (e.g., Chauvel, 1998; Inglehart, 1993). It also shows the dis continuity of social destinies according to the period of history through which cohorts live. Family or kinship ties, which bond the cohorts, contribute in shaping the destiny of individuals, and reveal the deep inter dependence of the generations (Hagestad, 1986; Hareven, 1996). Numer ous research studies undertaken in Western countries (see among others Coenen-Huther, Kellerhals, and Von Allmen, 1994; Crenner, 1998; Lye, 1996; and other studies included in this volume) show the continuous bond between generations and the vitality of their solidarity, despite increasing individualization. What is the cement of such solidarity? What is the speci ficity of generational relations compared to other fundamental social rela tions such as class or gender? In line with Mannheim's thinking (1952), whose vision of generations was inspired by his Marxist conception of
social classes, class stratification has often been placed in opposition to age or generation stratification, as if these divisions were mutually exclusive. As we know, there is, rather, an articulation between them. Then the ques tion of what is specific to generational relations remains. We would like to contribute to such a debate by emphasizing the temporal dimension of these relations, in which their uniqueness lies. In order to do so, this chap ter will analyze the dynamic of generational relations by dealing with eco nomic transfers and cultural transmissions occurring between three generations. This perspective places families as "critical mediators between developing individuals and societies influx" (Hagestad, 2003), as well as the mediators between succeeding generations and those changing societies.
