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I was born in 1962, at the tail end of the baby boom era. Does that make me especially lucky? Should I languish in guilt?
The claim has been made that the baby boomers in general, and the late baby boomers in particular, have done rather better than the generations that followed.
This argument has been bubbling for some years, but my interest was piqued by comments from the former foreign secretary William Hague, now chancellor of the University of Oxford - born in 1961 - who argued a few months ago that the early 1960s is one of the best periods in history in which to have been born.
And recent arguments over the English student loan system have put generational fairness even more firmly onto the agenda.
When I was young, I don't remember fairness between generations ever being given much thought, and the labelling of different cohorts (Generation X, Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha) wasn’t quite the thing it is now. The baby boom was talked about, but more as a simple demographic phenomenon. Now, generational analysis seems to be everywhere; from TV comedies like Hacks and Only Murders in the Building, to office-place chitchat.
But with generational identity politics alive and well today, let us examine the evidence. I find Hague’s claim fascinating and plausible. But is it right? Have my schoolmates and I done well - too well?
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