Introduction
Politics is essential in every country to help make decisions and provide solutions for the people’s problems. However, for the longest time, political positions have been held by older people who are considered wise and knowledgeable in the issues affecting the people. This is slowly changing as various young leaders continue to take up leadership positions. This paper discusses the statement that “younger politicians are more effective than older ones because they understand current issues and are able to use modern approaches to deal with those issues. Countries would benefit greatly if all politicians were forced to retire at the age of 60.”
The world population is relatively young. Petrovich (2019) notes that the average age of Americans in 2019 was 38 while the average senatorial age was 65. Problems that exist in the current generation may not have existed in the past, making it difficult for older leaders to understand the needs of the young (Singer, 2020). In this case, a younger leader will be well suited to deal with current problems affecting young people. The older leaders lead based on their past experiences and not on current issues troubling the current generation. However, it is important to note that even though older people account for less than 20% of the population, they also have issues that need addressing. This raises the question of whether the younger leaders would be more suited to handle the problems troubling the older generation. If the retirement age is capped at sixty years, those above 60years would still need representation that they may not find in the leadership of a younger generation (Cole, 2020, p. 29).
Old age is characterized by frailty (Cannadine, 2015). The more the leaders age, the more their health deteriorate, limiting their functional abilities. People vote for leaders hoping that they would finish their office term successfully and fulfill their manifestos. However, old age is unpredictable as there are life-threatening diseases that may cut off the life of politicians before the end of their terms. By limiting the retirement age to sixty, younger and stronger leaders would be elected to office, reducing the chances of death for leaders in office. Even though nobody is immune to death or illness, younger people are less likely to experience age-related diseases that render them unfit for duty.
The notion of age as an indicator of experience has been used for a while. The old politicians are considered to have more experience in enacting and passing laws. However, experience may be of little use in a constantly changing world. In this era, leaders have to change constantly to adopt new technology and leadership perspectives. Such can only be done by electing younger leaders who understand the technology and are not as immune to change as the older leaders. Technology is essential in leadership as it leads to innovation, transformation, reorganization, and change (Petrovich, 2019). Some problems have existed for years because the exact solutions that failed to work in the past are still being adopted in the present. A leadership of younger people would bring in fresh perspectives to help in the solution of such problems and to prevent them from troubling the future. However, even the young leaders cannot fully grasp the concept of the constantly changing technology, creating the need for constant learning that the younger leaders are more open to than the old.
Despite the need for a political system run by leaders under 60years, politics is still a seniority-based system (Lopez, 2019). This means that the old have a more elective advantage than the younger leaders. Additionally, the older leaders have the financial capabilities to sustain political campaigns, which may be financially drowning for younger leaders. This means that even with the age caps, the election of leaders would still depend on endorsements by older politicians who may push them to support their views. Therefore, there would be younger leaders pushing for the political opinions of retired politicians who endorsed them into office. Cannadine (2015) argues that most of the aged politicians joined politics at a young age. The majority of them stay in office for long due to a lack of term and age caps to limit their leadership. Even with the age caps, such leaders may continue to influence political decisions and leaders later into retirement, making the retirement age ineffective.
It is irrefutable that the population consists of both the young and old. Leadership means catering to the entire population’s needs without focusing on a single age group. Just as the old do not understand the needs of the young, the young may also lack understanding on the needs of the old (Marques, 2013, p.291). Consequently, having younger or older leaders would favor one generation over the other. Lopez (2019) proposes a leadership that involves both the old and young. In this case, the older politicians will put on the administration and law-making experience needed for the running of the government. In contrast, the young would bring in new leadership perspectives and adopt technology while learning and gaining knowledge and experience from the older leaders. This form of leadership can only be possible if elections are not based on age caps but rather on the leaders’ competency and voters’ trust. An election system that only favors young leaders would have little knowledge of solutions to the problems troubling the older population (Cole, 2020, p.33).
Conclusion
There is more to leadership than age. Having a retirement age of 60 years would be beneficial in maintaining a young leadership that is open to innovation, technology, and change. However, such leadership would lack the experience gained through age, which older politicians possess. Additionally, a younger leadership is not an assurance of favorable legislation as older politicians may still influence it. Therefore, neither younger nor older politicians are more effective than the others. Both the old and young need to complement each other in filling up each other’s shortcomings. This means that the most effective leadership system would be one without a retirement age, where the young and old can work together to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them by the voters.
Reference List
Cannadine, D., 2015. A Point of View: Is it better to have leaders who are too old or too young?. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32551652
Cole, T., 2020. The specter of old age: History, politics, and culture in an aging America. In Growing old in America (pp. 23-37). Routledge.
Lopez, M., 2019. How important is age when it comes to holding political office? Depends on whom you ask. [online] Thedenverchannel.com. Available at: https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/360/how-important-is-age-when-it-comes-to-holding-political-office-depends-on-whom-you-ask
Marques, D., 2013. Young politicians: different politics?. European view, 12(2), pp.289-297.
Petrovich, A., 2022. Out with the old (politicians), in with the young. [online] Chicago Tribune. Available at: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-old-politicians-should-retire-ageism-youth-0304-20190228-story.html
Singer, L., 2020. [Opinion] Younger politicians are a better representation of the youth. [online] THE EAGLE EYE. Available at: https://eagleeye.news/17837/opinion/editorial-younger-politicians-are-a-better-representation-of-the-youth/
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