Older, wiser -- and working
WINSTON Churchill was 65 when he became British prime minister in May 1940, tasked with leading the battle against the might of Nazi Germany. Thankfully, there were no officious human resource bureaucrats barring the front door to 10 Downing Street when he arrived to take charge. Sixty-five is generally the age at which society expects us to mothball our work implements and spend our remaining days pottering around in the garden shed. It is definitely not the age at which we are expected to take on energetic work assignments, let alone to kick Hitler in the pants.
These attitudes towards old age were formed a long time ago. In ancient Greece the division between young and old formed a constant theme in myth, poetry and theatre. Youth was good-looking, winsome and heroic. Old age was grotesque, miserly and tragic.
In Rome, the first-ever metropolis, life expectancy was on average 25 to 30 years. Those men who reached the venerable age of 60 could step down from their formal obligations as citizens. But this departure could also mean social marginalisation, just as it often does today.
Attitudes towards age and retirement are shifting, though. Elsewhere on these pages we relate how 99-year-old Louis Rabinowitz still arrives at his Cape Town office every day for work. He is one of a growing global army of citizens who work well beyond the conventional retirement age. Other elderly public figures who still roll up their sleeves each day include 87-year-old Queen Elizabeth. Inkatha veteran Mangosuthu Buthelezi celebrated his 85th birthday this week and President Jacob Zuma is still the country’s alpha politician at 71.
National Geographic recently asked the question: How long can humans conceivably live? Scientists are exploring ways to extend lifespan to lengths that seem inconceivable now — perhaps 120 years and beyond. As humans change, we need to rethink the age at which we expect people to stop work. Surely the important criteria now are a willingness to keep working and the ability to do so?