[Marxism] Proyect and Vogel on Aging in Capitalist Society

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

A Marxist Approach to Problems of the Aging
by Louis Proyect

In May of 2004, my mother finally went into a nursing home after
three years of mounting health problems. Many baby boomers besides me
have also found themselves coping with the difficulties of looking
after aging parents who can barely care for themselves, just as they
near retirement age. It is analogous to the burden one assumes in
raising a child, but without compensating joys. This generational
drama involves intense personal and social pressures. Inevitably,
questions of one's own mortality, too, are posed for the middle-aged
son or daughter of a parent struggling to remain independent. When
you reach sixty, as I have, you begin to realize that you too are
susceptible to failing health. You are also confronted with major
economic challenges, since the costs of care for the elderly are
enormous in a capitalist society racing to eradicate the last
vestiges of the welfare state.

FULL TEXT:
<http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/proyect281005.html>

The Migration of Boomers: Death Knell of Another American Dream
by Richard D. Vogel

Growing old in the U.S. is becoming increasingly scary.  Beginning in
January, U.S. baby boomers will be turning 60 at a rate of more than
4 million per year, and for most of them the American dream of a
comfortable, worry-free retirement after a life of hard work is not
going to materialize. . . . Even those individuals who own their
homes outright and are lucky enough to receive retirement income will
not be guaranteed a secure end-of-life experience because of the
spiraling costs of health care, consumer goods, insurance,
transportation, etc.  Seeking some level of comfort and security,
many boomers are resigned to working indefinitely while others are
considering retirement in Latin America, especially Mexico, where the
cost of living is considerably less than in the U.S.

FULL TEXT:
<http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/vogel281005.html>

Yoshie Furuhashi
<http://montages.blogspot.com>
<http://monthlyreview.org>
<http://mrzine.org>
* Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/mahmoud-
ahmadinejads-face.html>;  <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/chvez-
congratulates-ahmadinejad.html>; <http://montages.blogspot.com/
2005/06/iranian-working-class-rejects.html>



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