I think it's more 'by definition' than 'by coincidence': the world has always been run by idiots, scumbags and criminals and it falls to pieces every decade or two like clockwork.

Youthful angst is just a condition where you think no-one else notices and that the problem is solvable.

Maturity is when you realize that anyone paying attention has always known and simply decided that playing along leaves more time to get on with life than railing against the game.

There’s a wonderful line in a Matt Groenig comic strip that goes something like this: “The jocks, bullies, and tattletales that tormented you all through your school years grow up to be the people who turn you down for jobs, explain why your broken products are no longer covered by their warranties, and announce that your country has just declared war.” Only he said it much much better.

>I think it's more 'by definition' than 'by coincidence': the world has always been run by idiots

Maybe so, but it's certainly not run by idiots "by definition", if you have the normal meaning of the phrase in mind.

I didn't mean to suggest that every person 'running things' was accurately described by each label. I meant "idiots, scumbags and criminals" as a domain.

I wouldn't even rule out that an exception or two might not fit into any of those labels. I just don't think they're statistically significant.

I just mean that I don't see that he was right by definition. That would mean that the world is run by idiots by definition, which is obviously false (that fact, if it is a fact, doesn't follow from the definitions of any of those words).

Fair enough. I was expressing teenage angst, in part, because I knew things were going wrong. The angst might have been there even if society had been in a better state. It certainly was better than it is now.