Systemic crisis of ageing: How neoliberal capitalism commodifies longevity while erasing intergenerational justice
Original framing: “[Perspectives] The age of ageing” — The Lancet
Marginalised voices—older women, racialized elders, LGBTQ+ seniors, and disabled elders—are erased in the exhibition's focus on 'universal' ageing. Older women face triple discrimination (age, gender, class), while racialized elders in the US have life expectancies 10 years shorter than white peers due to structural racism. The 'sandwich generation' (often women of colour) bears the brunt of unpaid elder care, yet their labor is invisible in the exhibition's narrative. Grassroots groups like 'SAGE' (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) redefine ageing on their own terms.
The exhibition's focus on 'The Coming of Age' inadvertently mirrors the neoliberal script: ageing is framed as a personal crisis to be managed through market solutions, while the structural violence of capitalism—pension cuts, healthcare privatization, and ageist urban design—remains invisible.
This Western lens collapses the rich tapestry of global ageing traditions, from Māori whakapapa to Balinese elder-led harmony, into a singular narrative of dread. The trickster in this story is Hermes, who exposes the absurdity of a society that both fears and commodifies its elders, turning their wisdom into 'silver capital.' Yet marginalized voices—older women, racialized elders, and disabled seniors—are systematically erased, their labour and resilience ignored. The path forward requires dismantling the biomedical-industrial complex's grip on ageing, replacing it with intergenerational commons, decolonial reparations, and elder-led climate resilience. Only then can we transform ageing from a crisis into a collective reimagining of time, care, and justice.