The aged and diachronic solidarity in modern society

Theory in social gerontology has mostly taken the individual as the main unit of inference. But one may learn more about the conditions of older people through a focus on diachronic solidarity conceptualized as a societal requisite. For this suggests that industrial societies have varying needs for older people. Depending on the stability of their institutions, identification with them, and presumptions about their stability, older people may or may not be accorded an important role in the symbolization of societal continuity. Limited evidence on the relation between income stratification by age and regime stability supports this hypothesis.