22 'People should be rewarded according to ability,not according to age and experience'
Young men and women today are finding it more and more necessary to
protest against what is known as the 'Establishment': that is, the people
who wield power in our society. Clashes with the authorities are reported
almost daily in the press. The tension that exists between old and young
5 could certainly be lessened if some of the most obvious causes were
removed. In particular, the Establishment should adopt different attitudes
to work and the rewards it brings. Today's young people are ambitious.
Many are equipped with fine educations and are understandably impatient
to succeed as quickly as possible. They want to be able to have their share
10 of the good things in life while they are still young enough to enjoy them.
The Establishment, however, has traditionally believed that people should
be rewarded according to their age and experience. Ability counts for less.
As the Establishment controls the purse-strings, its views are inevitably
imposed on society. Employers pay the smallest sum consistent with
1S keeping you in a job. You join the hierarchy and take your place in the
queue. Ifyou are young, you go to the very end ofthe queue and stay there
no matter how brilliant you are. What you know is much less important
than whom you know and how old you are. If you are able, your abilities
will be acknowledged and rewarded in due course - that is, after twenty or
20 thirty years have passed. By that time you will be considered old enough to
join the Establishment and you will be expected to adopt its ideals. God
help you if you don't.
There seems to be a gigantic conspiracy against young people. While on
the one hand society provides them with better educational facilities, on the
25 other it does its best to exclude them from the jobs that really matter.
There are exceptions, of course. Some young people do manage to break
through the barrier despite the restrictions, but the great majority have to
wait patiently for years before they can really give full rein to their abilities.
This means that, in most fields, the views of young people are never heard
30 because there is no one to represent them. All important decisions about
how society is to be run are made by people who are too old to remember
what it was like to be young. President Kennedy was one of the notable
exceptions. One of the most tragic aspects of his assassination is that
mankind was deprived of a youthful leader.
35 Resentment is the cause of a great deal of bitterness. The young resent
the old because they feel deprived of the good things life has to offer. The
old resent the young because they are afraid of losing what they have. A
man of fifty or so might say, 'Why should a young rascal straight out of
school earn more than I do?' But if the young rascal is more able, more
40 determined, harder-working than his middle-aged critic, why shouldn't
he? Employers should recognise ability and reward it justly. This would
remove one of the biggest causes of friction between old and young and
ultimately it would lead to a better society.
The argument: key words
· I Young people frequently protest against the Establishment.
z Tension could be lessened if causes were removed.
3 Big difference in attitude to work and rewards.
4 The young today: ambitious, well-educated, eager to succeed.
S The Establishment believes in rewarding according to age and experience;
ability secondary.
6 Controls purse-strings: pays the smallest possible sums.
7 The young join hierarchy at the end of the queue; what you know less
important than whom you know.
S Rewards come after twenty or thirty years.
9 By that time, old enough to join Establishment, adopt its ideals.
10 Big conspiracy against the young.
· I I Society provides a good education, withholds important jobs.
rz Very few young people break through barrier.
13 Views of the young not represented; the old make decisions. Kennedy
a notable exception.
14 Resentment causes bitterness.
15 The young resent the old: feel deprived of the good things in life.
16 The old resent the young: afraid of losing what they have.
17 E.g. a man of fifty resents a young man earning more.
IS Society must recognise ability and reward accordingly .
.19 Cause of friction between the old and young would be removed.
The counter-argument: key words
I There is a hierarchy, but young people rise up scale more quickly than
ever before.
z Young people mature more quickly, assume responsibilities.
3 Many young people in teens, early twenties: great success.
· 4 Many others successful by late twenties, early thirties.
5 Attitudes to work not a cause of friction between Establishment and
young.
6 Clashes due to other causes: different sets of values.
7 In a free society, people are rewarded according to many factors, not
just ability, age, etc. E.g. enterprise, initiative, etc.
S Young people are free to compete on equal terms in democratic society.
9 Big organisations (e.g. large firms, civil service) could not function
without hierarchy.
10 Big organisations are quick to spot and acknowledge ability.
II It's only fair that a young man should receive smaller rewards.
lZ Experience is a valuable commodity, hard to obtain.
13 Older people have great responsibilities: young families, ageing
parents.
14 In society, everyone gets what he deserves.
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