Theory of generations

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Theory of generations (or sociology of generations) is a theory posed by Karl Mannheim in his 1923 essay, The Problem of Generations. This essay has been described as "the most systematic and fully developed" and even "the seminal theoretical treatment of generations as a sociological phenomenon".[1] According to Mannheim's theory, people are significantly influenced by the socio-historical environment (in particular, notable events that involve them actively) that predominates their youth, forming, on the basis of that experience, social generations that in turn became agents of change and give rise to events that shape future generations.[1]


Mannheim defined a generation (note that some have suggested that the term cohort is more correct, to distinguish social generations from the kinship (family, blood-related) generations)[1] as a group of individuals of similar ages whose members have experienced a noteworthy historical event within a set period of time.[1][2]

According to Mannheim, social consciousness and perspective of youth reaching maturity in a particular time and place (what he termed "generational location") is significantly influenced by the major historical events of that era (thus becoming a "generation in actuality").[1][3] A key point, however, is that this major historical event has to occur, and has to involve the individuals in their young age (thus shaping their lives, as later experiences will tend to receive meaning from those early experiences); a mere chronological contemporaneity is not enough to produce a common generational consciousness.[1] Mannheim in fact stressed that not every generation will develop an original and distinctive consciousness.[1] Whether a generation succeeds in developing a distinctive consciousness is significantly dependent on the pace of social change ("tempo of change").[1]

Mannheim notes also that social change can occur gradually, without the need for major historical events, but those events are more likely to occur in times of accelerated social and cultural change.[1] Mannheim did also note that the members of a generation are internally stratified (by their location, culture, class, etc.), thus they may view different events from different angles and thus are not totally homogenous.[1][2] Even with the "generation in actuality", there may be a differing forms of response to the particular historical situation, thus stratifying by a number of "generational units" (or "social generations").[1]


Mannheim's theory of generations has been applied to explain how important historical, cultural, and political events of the late 1950s and the early 1960s educated youth (of the Baby Boom Generation) of the inequalities in American society, such as their involvement along with other generations in the Civil Rights Movement, and have given rise to a belief that those inequalities need to be changed by individual and collective action.[3] This has pushed an influential minority of young people in the United States toward social movement activity.[3] On the other hand, the generation which came of age in the later part of the 1960s and 1970s was much less engaged in social movement activity, because - according to the theory of generations - the events of that era were more conductive towards a political orientation stressing individual fulfillment instead of participation in such social movements questioning the status quo.[3]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jane Pilcher, Mannheim's sociology of generations: an undervalued legacy, 1993
  2. ^ a b Bob Lively, Nazarene Baby Boomer’s in the 21st Century:Service and Self-fulfillment, Presented at ANSR 2002
  3. ^ a b c d Willis, John. Generations and Social Movements of the 60's and 70's. Revised version of a paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (Chicago, Illinois, September 5–9, 1977)

Further reading[edit]

  • Karl Mannheim, “The Problem of Generations” in P. Kecskemeti ed, Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge by Karl Mannheim (New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952).
  • Karl Mannheim, "The Problem of Generations",[1]