“Successful Aging,” Gerontological Theory and Neoliberalism: A Qualitative Critique

Abstract

This article is a critique of the successful aging (SA) paradigm as described in the Rowe and Kahn book, Successful Aging (1998). The major point of this article is that two key ideas in the book may be understood as consonant with neoliberalism, a social perspective that came into international prominence at the same time the SA paradigm was initially promoted. These two key ideas are (a) the emphasis on individual social action applied to the nature of the aging experience and (b) the failure to provide a detailed policy agenda for the social and cultural change being promoted and, particularly, for older adults who may be left behind by the approach to change the book suggests. The article provides no evidence for a direct connection between SA and neoliberalism, but rather shows how similarities in their approaches to social change characterize both of them. In sum, the article shows (a) how the implicit social theory developed in the book, in a manner similar to neoliberalism, elevates the individual as the main source of any changes that must accompany the SA paradigm and (b) the focus on SA as individual action does not provide for those older adults who do not or will not age "successfully." This, we conclude, implicitly sets up a two-class system of older adults, which may not be an optimal means of addressing the needs of all older adults. The article also reviews a number of studies about SA and shows how these, too, may emphasize its similarities to neoliberalism and other issues that the SA paradigm does not adequately address.