The opening chapter of The Fourth Turning serves as a broad introduction to the basic principles that the authors will lay out. They begin by pointing out that America, at the time of the book’s writing in 1997, felt as though it was unraveling. Despite it being a time of relative peace and comfort, trust in the nation’s institutions was eroding and individualism was strong. Those characteristics also describe a third turning—what the authors refer to as an unraveling era. Strauss and Howe explain that four turnings, or shifts in the mood of the nation, together comprise an 80-to-100-year period and constitute a cycle that has repeated itself over the last five centuries. These recurring turnings include an upbeat era of strengthening institutions and weakening individualism (a high), a passionate era of spiritual upheaval (an awakening), the aforementioned unraveling era, and a decisive crisis era during which a new civic order replaces the old one (a crisis).

The concept of time plays a critical role not just in turnings, but also in human life and generational theory.