214 RüdigerKunow
The overall cultural trend to expand the practical and the semiotic
terrainsoftheyoungbyincludinglatelifeinthedomainsoncereserved
forearlierstagesofhumanlifefindsitsechoalsoinscientificdiscourse,
especially in the medical and social sciences. In this context, it has
become common,especially in clinicalas well as socialgerontology,to
make a distinction between the "young old" and the "old old," or
between "third agers" and "fourth agers." Third agers are in this
perspective notreallyold, having not yet given up their footing in or
claimto,whatcultureassociateswithyouthandyouthfulness:theytake
part in many of the activities (preferably consumerist), such as sports,
travel, fashion, and other lifestyle pursuits, taken up by the rest of the
population.Thisexpansion—realorimaginary—ofthedomainofyouth
canalsobereadasacolonizationoflaterlifebyitsconceptualopposite,
anoperationwhich,accordingtoSusanSontag,
... brilliantly serves a secular society whose idols are ever-increasing
industrial productivity and the unlimited cannibalization ofnature.Such
asocietymustcreateanewsenseoftherhythmsoflifeinordertoincite
people to buy more, to consume and throw away faster. People let the
direct awareness they have of their needs, of what really gives them
pleasure, be overruled by commercialized images of happiness and
personal well-being; and, in this imagery designed to stimulate ever
more avid levels of consumption, the most popular metaphor for
happinessis"youth."(DoubleStandard286)
Baltes and Smith, in their discussion of third and fourth agers—
identified by them as "one of the new frontier topics of gerontological
research" (124) are quite upfront about the possible consequences of
suchdistinctionsfortheroleofelderlifeincultureandsociety:
A vital society requires age-fairness in resource allocation: Optimizing
the state of the future aging population requires well-functioning and
productive younger age groups so that societal resources continue to be
available to support old age. Age-fairness in resource allocation is a
particular dilemma in developing countries where long-range planning
requires prioritized investment of scarce resources into children, youth,
andyoungadulthood.(123)