Going On and On by Lucinda Holdforth

What do we owe future generations? And how do we act now to support them?

One way is to think – hard – about the damage our obsession with longevity is wreaking on the economy, our society and our future.

Australia’s aged care crisis is escalating as Baby Boomers grow old. According to latest research, our ageing population is as great a risk to Australia’s future as climate change and looming geopolitical risks – yet we’re refusing to talk about it.

As Lucinda Holdforth argues, we have become defined by a narcissistic refusal by ageing leaders to grow old or give up the reins of power – or even squarely face the fact that we must eventually die. The disastrous consequences include blocked political progress, disenfranchised young people and death of the essential cultural renewal that once occurred with the natural blooming of each new generation.

As we strive to extend our lives to the maximum, we must ask ourselves difficult questions. What is our social contract with those who come after us? Why is ‘ageism’ unacceptable while age-based prejudice against the young is commonplace? And what price will our younger citizens pay for the rest of us going on and on?

‘A courageous, witty, compelling and often beautiful argument for my generation to hurry up and let go.’ CHARLOTTE WOOD

About the Author: Lucinda Holdforth is the author of four books examining what makes good societies flourish. While working as a speech writer and adviser to senior leaders across government and business, she has written with wit and insight about the women who shaped the culture of Paris, the enduring value of manners, the language of democratic leadership and, most recently, the downside of modern virtues in 21st-Century Virtues: How They Are Failing Our Democracy (2023). Her books are lively provocations – wake-up calls – to think more clearly about the forces and conditions that make for a civilized world.

31 Mar 2026
 

Going On and On: Why Our Longevity Threatens the Future by Lucinda Holdforth ISBN 9781761821004