The Sociology of the Life Course

6- Later life; with emphasis on Vietnam, and the industrialized

‘West’

Accompaniment to the superb Giddens and Sutton (2013) (left) Chapter 9, with an assortment of additional accompanying resources and activities

Contents

6 The sociology of later life

Also in the series…

1 How do people age?2 The sociology of childhood3 The sociology of youth and adolescence4 The sociology of young adulthood5 The sociology of mature adulthood

4- Later LifeWith emphases on Vietnam and the industrialized “West”

see G&S 2013:352

The life stages in socio-historical perspective:

Despite the efforts of Aubrey DeGrey and

the SENS Foundation –and medical science generally- we do

certainly all grow old and, eventually, die

Activities:

Do you fear growing old? What might make the process more bearable?

We have seen how modernity

and late modernity change the

meanings associated with

all stages of life, and “later life” is no different

In other times and spaces, the elderly have always been treated

with upmost respect and granted

the highest status of all age

grades

Activities:

(i) What do you do to show respect for the elders in your life?

(ii) What do the folded arms of the children above symbolize? It’s not what you might think!

In Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Native American, African, South American -for example- the elderly

are looked up to for the

wisdom and

guidance they offer

younger generations

Not surprisingly, this was and is also the case

in indigenous societies where the

elderly are a source of knowledge

in a world of word-of-mouth

Activity:

In indigenous societies, what topics might the elderly be consulted on?

In the late-modern world, the elderly are still

“respected” -within families at least- but not to the extent of

earlier eras

Today’s elderly can feel

out-of-date

and irrelevant in a

fast-changing

societyActivity:

In what ways is today’s society particularly fast-changing?

In a fast-paced and fast-changing society that so clearly values

youthfulness, and requires so much

energy, increasing age no longer denotes

increasing status

Activity:

In what ways does our society value ‘youthfulness’, and how can this be exemplified?

Today’s elderly can face

ageist hiring practices in the

workplace

Activity:

What is ‘ageism’ and why might employers display signs of it? Answer with reference to authority, power and status

…“symbolic annihilation” through media imagery and –

in general- a sense that they are “past it” and useless; not to mention a drain on

the funds of

their families and

government

Activity:

What is ‘symbolic annihilation’ and what other groups suffer from it in the media?

Furthermore, today’s elderly are prone to

loneliness and depression; a sad by-product of the

“freedom” enjoyed by younger generations

Many may have never had children, or –more commonly-

have no relatives living in their

geographical area

Activity:

Review the factors contributing to the loneliness experienced by many elderly today.

Many people in the contemporary world die

apart from their family and friends, in private

“retirement-” or “care-homes”

To many, this

typifies the experience of the late-

modern individual;

isolated from

one’s

extended family and

lacking community

Activities:

(i) Would you like your parents to be cared for in a retirement home when they are very old?

(ii) Would you like to spend your last days in a retirement home?

In Vietnamese society,

language gives a clear indication of

the importance of age; one addresses people according

not to their age itself, but to the differences in

age between the two speakers.One addresses someone based on how much

younger or older they are than

yourself

In Vietnamese culture, age is still

seen as an asset rather

than a liability, to a great extent; and people of all ages must

show respect to those

older than them

Activity:

In late-modern industrial societies, why might age be seen as a liability?

In Vietnam, it is culturally unacceptable to

raise one’s voice to

anyone older than oneself –for example- or

to serve oneself before them at dinner

Activity:

Suggest some more ways respect can be shown to one’s elders in your culture

In Vietnam, children fold their arms when speaking to elders- to show respect! Note that in other cultures this may well

signify lack of

enthusiasm or

stroppiness

At the top of the Vietnamese age stratification

system is the elderly; and

in terms of life experience,

today’s elderly

Vietnamese have “seen it all”…Activity:

Can you list three crucial events (and their aftermath) that today’s over-80 Vietnamese have lived through?

Many of today’s elderly remember

gaining independence from French rule in

1945- following the end of

World War II

And all of today’s elderly Vietnamese lived through

the – for many- brutal war

with America

Today’s Southern elderly recall

American occupation during the war, followed by the onset of

Communism

…whilst Northerners

may have suffered carpet bombings and

jungle warfare; their “side” lost

ten times as many people as the “losers”, USA

Northern and Southern elderly

alike then endured hard times materially; food

shortages,

starvation for

many, and

authoritarian Communist government throughout the late 1970s and 1980s

…followed by the opening-up of Vietnam to some degree of “Western

capitalism” with Doi Moi in 1986, and subsequent rapid development, especially since 2000

Today’s Vietnamese elderly are rightfully

highly respected…

But in most global societies, norms regarding age and status change with the onset of

late modernity. What will this mean for the

elderly of

Vietnam?

As a perfect example of a country in

demographic transition,

Vietnam has a

“ticking timebomb”

demographic problem regarding the elderly

Activity:

What is a “ticking timebomb” problem?

Activities:

(i) What does the graph represent? Does it show a snapshot or a trend?

(ii) We know that Vietnam’s fertility rate is now under 2, whereas in the 1940s-1980s it was over 4 (see GapMinder software). Combine this information with what we see in the graph to make a demographic prediction for 2060.

Today’s young people are

giving birth to far fewer babies per woman than in previous decades; meaning that by around

2060, the

country will be under enormous strain to

care for its elderly

Activities

(i)Which nations worldwide have this problem already? Are they in an early, or advanced stage of the demographic transition?

(ii) In what ways does an elderly person act as an economic liability to their family and nation state?

(iii) What short- and long-term solutions to this problem can you suggest?

As with many countries with this problem

e.g. Japan, this

difficult process coincides with what was

already a time of declining “respect” for the elderly due to modernization

Can Vietnam maintain its traditions in the face of

late modern developmen

t and the

demographic transition?