Across the history of great civilisations, rituals of passage transformed boys into men, equipping them to bear the weight of societal progress. In ancient Rome, donning the toga virilis signalled a young man's readiness for civic duty. In medieval Europe, apprenticeships under guilds forged skills, independence, and purpose. Even in the modern West, the path to adulthood was once clear: secure a job, marry, build a home, raise children, and carry the torch of stability into the next generation. These milestones weren't just personal achievements, they were the scaffolding of thriving societies.
In 2025, that scaffolding is crumbling across the Western world.
Data paints a stark picture. In the United States, the Census Bureau reports that only 17% of young adults achieve the five classic milestones of adulthood, employment, marriage, homeownership, parenthood, and financial independence, by their mid-20s, compared to nearly 50% five decades ago. Similar trends echo across Europe and other Western nations. In the UK, the Office for National Statistics notes that 38% of men aged 20–34 still live with their parents, up from 26% in 1996. In Germany, the Federal Statistical Office highlights a decline in marriage rates, with only 4.8 marriages per 1,000 people in 2023, half the rate of the 1970s. Across the OECD, fertility rates have plummeted to 1.5 children per woman, well below the 2.1 needed to sustain populations. The West is raising a generation of "boy-men," adults trapped in perpetual adolescence, drifting between gig jobs, digital distractions, and delayed responsibilities.
History offers a grim warning: civilisations overrun with boy-men do not endure. Rome's fall wasn't solely due to barbarian invasions but to an internal rot, citizens who traded self-reliance and sacrifice for bread, circuses, and complacency. The Byzantine Empire withered as its elites chose luxury over duty. The West, from North America to Europe to Australia, risks the same fate. Pleasure has eclipsed purpose. Instant gratification, through endless scrolling, streaming, or swiping, has replaced the hard-won rewards of building a life. Weak men, as history shows, invite collapse.
The symptoms are universal across Western societies. Young men delay or abandon the milestones that once defined adulthood. Driver's licenses, once a teenage rite, are postponed, Eurostat data shows a 20% drop in young drivers in the EU since 2000. Marriage rates have collapsed; in France, INSEE reports a 30% decline in weddings since the 1990s. Parenthood is increasingly deferred, with many opting out entirely, as evidenced by Canada's record-low birth rate of 1.26 in 2023. Stable employment, once a cornerstone, is elusive. The International Labour Organization notes that youth unemployment in Western Europe hovers at 15–20%, while in the U.S., layoffs surged 140% in 2025, with over 800,000 jobs cut. Graduates flood job markets, only to end up in precarious gig work, driving for ride-shares, delivering food, or, as one X post quipped, "mowing lawns for crypto." Many retreat to parental homes, forming unintentional communes of the underemployed, not forging futures but waiting for someone else to keep the lights on.
This isn't just an economic crisis; it's a cultural and civilisational one. A shrinking middle class, down 10% in the U.S. since 1970 and eroding across Europe, per OECD reports, means fewer families, fewer children, and fewer communities to pass on stability. The social contract frays as young men, unable to secure meaningful work or purpose, disengage. Japan, often a bellwether for Western trends, offers a glimpse of the future: "hikikomori," young men who withdraw entirely from society, number over 1 million, a phenomenon now emerging in places like Spain and Italy. These are not men poised to defend or lead civilisations, they're barely participating in them.
The proverb rings true: hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times. The West, basking in decades of prosperity, has bred weakness and woke. Comfort has dulled the edge of discipline. Social media and gaming offer dopamine hits that mimic achievement without requiring it. Education systems churn out degrees but not resilience, British universities report a 25% rise in students seeking mental health support since 2015, often citing "overwhelm" in navigating adult life. Meanwhile, economic precarity, stagflation in the Eurozone, skyrocketing rents in Australia, and a U.S. job market where "job hugging" (clinging to miserable roles out of fear) defines 2025, traps young men in survival mode, not strength.
The consequences are existential. A civilisation that fails to forge men cannot innovate, defend, or reproduce itself. Rome's legions weakened as its citizens softened. Europe's feudal societies stagnated when knighthood lost its rigour. Today, the West's declining birth rates and aging populations, projected to shrink Europe's workforce by 20% by 2050, per the European Commission, signal a demographic cliff. Without men willing to shoulder responsibility, economies falter, borders weaken, and cultural cohesion dissolves. Posts on X lament "the death of ambition" among young men, with some blaming feminism or technology, but the root runs deeper: a society that no longer demands maturity gets none.
Reversing this requires resurrecting rites of passage. Apprenticeships, once a bridge to mastery, could replace bloated university degree programs; Germany's dual education system, blending work and training, boasts youth unemployment half the EU average. Community initiatives, like those in Scandinavian countries, could foster mentorship and purpose, countering isolation. Economic policies must prioritise stable jobs over gig economies; Canada's push for trade apprenticeships has cut youth unemployment by 5% in targeted regions. Culturally, the West must reject the glorification of perpetual adolescence, endless gaming, hookup apps, and "safe spaces," and demand discipline, sacrifice, and contribution.
The clock is ticking. Civilisations don't fall overnight, but erode through neglect. The West stands at a crossroads: forge strong men or face hard times, and inevitable collapse. History is merciless to those who choose wrongly.
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/only-17-percent-of-young-adults-in