Don’t Blame Old People For American Decline

It is modernity’s hardest brag: In a single century, the average human life­span more than doubled. A generation terrorized by tuberculosis, scarlet fever, and cholesterol now lives in the memory of one that reasonably expects—with a little discipline and a common prescription or two—to surpass the ripe Old Testament mark of 70 years, perhaps by decades. In just a few years, Americans older than 65 will constitute one-fifth of the population, the same proportion as those under 18. For the first...