对当代美国老年人政治影响力的分析

Analysis of the Political Influence of Aged Population in Modern America

二战后,美国老年人口总数及其在总人口中的比重均出现明显增长,在这一人口背景下,美国老年人在政治上的影响力备受关注。一方面,庞大的老年人口数及居高不下的政治参与率等因素使老年人成为一支不可忽视的政治力量;另一方面,受老年群体内部多元性等诸多因素的限制,美国老年人发挥政治影响力具有局限性。我们既不可过分夸大这一群体的政治影响力,也不能忽视他们政治影响力的实际存在。随着"婴儿潮一代"的陆续老化,这一问题在美国更显突出。

Af ter the second world war, both the number of American aged population and its percentage in total population have increased distinctly. As a result, America enters into the aging society formally. Under such population background, the political inlfuence of the aged population receives wide attention. On the one hand, due to the enormous number of aged population and a fairly high rate of their political involvement, the elderly becomes a powerf ul political strength that cannot be neglected;on the other hand, due to the limitation of many factors such as the internal pluralism of the old age group, the political inlfuence of the aged population faces an evidently embarrassing situation. We can neither over-exaggerate the political inlfuence of this group nor ignore the substantial existence of their political inlfuence. Especially as the baby boomers continue to enter retirement, this problem becomes more prominent.