“The seasons of time offer no
guarantees. For modern societies, no less than for
all forms of life, transformative change is
discontinuous. For what seems an eternity, history
goes nowhere – and then it suddenly flings us
forward across some vast chaos that defies any
mortal effort to plan our way there. The Fourth
Turning will try our souls – and the saecular
rhythm tells us that much will depend on how we
face up to that trial. The saeculum does not
reveal whether the story will have a happy ending,
but it does tell us how and when our choices will
make a difference.” – Strauss & Howe – The
Fourth Turning
“Don’t think you can escape
the Fourth Turning the way you might today
distance yourself from news, national politics, or
even taxes you don’t feel like paying. History
warns that a Crisis will reshape the basic social
and economic environment that you now take for
granted. The Fourth Turning necessitates the death
and rebirth of the social order. It is the
ultimate rite of passage for an entire people,
requiring a luminal state of sheer chaos whose
nature and duration no one can predict in
advance.” – Strauss & Howe – The
Fourth Turning
“The risk of catastrophe will
be very high. The nation could erupt into
insurrection or civil violence, crack up
geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule.
If there is a war, it is likely to be one of
maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total
war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward
ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in
mankind’s willingness to use it.” – Strauss & Howe – The
Fourth Turning