Towards Gerontocracy

The Greek philosopher Plato once said: “It is for the elder man to rule and for the younger to submit.” If alive today, Plato would have been a happy man, witnessing the vindication of his theory, with most of the consequential world leaders being in power, well after completing the Biblical three score and ten (70) years. US President Donald Trump is 80 years old, Russian President Vladimir Putin is 73 years old, Chinese President Xi Jinping is 73 years old, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 76 years old, and our own PM Modi is touching 76.

Yet these leaders are not the oldest; President Paul Biya of Cameroon, in office since 1982, has crossed the age of 93 years. Queen Elizabeth II reigned till she died at the age of 96 years. In fact, if we rank Heads of State/Government according to age, we find that even the tenth ranked person, is above 84 years. With a large population of young people in most countries, we are truly living in an age of gerontocracy, a term coined in nineteenth century France, which is defined as rule by leaders who are substantially older than most of the population.

Advertisement

Supporters of gerontocracy argue that older leaders possess valuable experience and wisdom, which can benefit society as a whole. Also, cultural attitudes towards aging, significantly shape perceptions of gerontocracy, and with most societies venerating the elderly, gerontocracy is widely accepted. However, there is a credible counterview. Rule by older leaders has its downsides; aged leaders may not adequately consider the long-term impacts of their decisions, particularly since they may not face the consequences of policies that extend beyond their lifetimes.

This can be seen in the global response to climate change; President Trump has taken the US out of the climate dialogue, while the remaining leaders have fixed amelioration targets for a time far in the future ~ most deadlines are for 2050 or 2070 ~ when most of the present generation would not be around. Given physical and mental constraints of old age, there can also be questions about the reduced capability of old people for effective leadership. Most importantly gerontocracy shuts out influence and representation of young people. Governments in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka were brought down by youth-led protest movements; President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was overthrown in 2022 by a mass protest movement known as the Aragalaya (Struggle), Bangladesh’s Monsoon Revolution followed in 2024, removing long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and in 2025, Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), toppled three-time communist Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government in Nepal.

A common thread could be that all three countries were being run by aged autocrats, with Rajapaksa being 77 years old, Oli 74 years and Sheikh Hasina running 79. Corruption and nepotism were rampant in all three countries, accentuating economic distress and demographic pressures. However, one can say with certainty that at the time they were elected, all three leaders were genuinely popular, but with time and age, they lost touch with their constituents. With the older generation cornering both power and money, there are many who fear that the US is fast morphing into a gerontocracy. Trump was the oldest person ever to be inaugurated president in 2016, until the inauguration of Biden at the age of 78 years and two months, in 2020. After his second inauguration in 2024, Trump was again the oldest person, at 78 years, seven months, and six days to be inaugurated as president. Biden served as the oldest president at the end of his tenure; he was 82 years and two months old, by the end of his term.

Assuming that Trump serves until the end of his term, he will be the new record holder at 82 years, seven months, and six days old. According to a Pew study commissioned in 2011, in the US, the median senior citizen had 47 times more wealth than the median young adult (ages 18-34). The Covid-19 pandemic has probably made the gap wider, because entry level jobs have become less paying, while older folks, with sufficient capital, are making a killing at the booming stock market. Also, with increasing longevity and better health, and passage of anti-discrimination legislation in 1986, older workmen are refusing to make way for their replacements, leading to the highest wage inequality by age in the world.

India has more than 60 crore young people but politics in India is dominated by older people, probably because we have more than our share of career politicians, who reach their peak well after the normal retirement age. Jawaharlal Nehru was almost 75 when he died in office. Manmohan Singh was 82 years old at the time he ceased to be Prime minister. Rajiv Gandhi was comparatively a spring chicken, at 40 years, when he was elected as PM; no one can dispute that he set India on the path of modernisation, bringing a fresh breath of air in the stuffy corridors of power. After the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh, PM Modi tried to reverse the drift towards gerontocracy, by prescribing an informal retirement age of 75 years for holders of political office.

To his credit, he sent veteran politicians like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to the Margdarshak Mandal ~ a euphemism for being put out to pasture. However, presently, with PM Modi himself, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, crossing the threshold of 75 years, the idea of having younger leaders seems to have lost steam. Other parties are not much better in this respect; Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is 83 years old, and Chandrababu Naidu is 76 years. Currently, the average age of Parliamentarians is 56 years, with 53 Parliamentarians being above 71 years.

A concerning trend, that of bureaucrats and judges serving well past their retirement age, has emerged in India. In fact, today, most key positions in the Government are being held by officers who had retired long ago, with many officers receiving more than one extension. In many cases, extensions are given for a year at a time, keeping the officer on tenterhooks. Such officers can hardly be expected to work without fear or favour ~ an essential requirement for a bureaucrat. Also this system is deeply demoralising for younger officers, who are unable to reach top positions, as those are already occupied by their retired colleagues. For better or worse, sometimes, such retired officers are foisted on private sector entities, that too in lead roles.

The hanging carrot of a post-retirement sinecure makes officers near retirement neglect current work, make compromises, and postpone difficult decisions. While extending the retirement age of Central Government employees to sixty years, in 1997, the Fifth Pay Commission had observed: “There is a tendency on the part of senior officials to seek extension of service up to the age of 60 years. Very often, they are prepared to do anything to obtain such an extension of service.

A general increase in the age of superannuation, coupled with a total ban on extension of service except for scientists and medical specialists who could be granted extension of service on a case-to-case basis up to the age of 64 years, recommended separately, will lead to an enhanced level of objectivity and impartiality among senior administrators.” Deciding on a PIL filed against granting of extension to the ED director, the Supreme Court expressed similar views, coming down heavily on the government, and asking if the Government was full of incompetent people, except for the person in question. The perils of gerontocracy were revealed during the 2024 US Presidential election, which initially pitted two declining senior citizens against one another, who committed a series of campaign trail blunders.

Later on, Trump’s myriad unhinged statements and actions, before, during, and after the Iran war have adequately brought home to Americans the danger of electing a President well past his prime. As Oscar Wilde had said: “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” Old men may remember what Charlotte Bronte wrote: “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” (Jane Eyre)

(The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax)