There was a time when you needed to wear a wristwatch because that was how you knew what time it was. That was back when being on time wasn’t a white supremacist trait, and was simultaneously appreciated and admired. It was a time when everyone didn’t walk around with a computer in their pocket that told them the time, and could also be used to make telephone calls, before people realized they wanted no actual human interaction.

Outside of olds and some odd folks who appreciated the mechanical marvel and beauty of a wristwatch, who needed a watch anymore?

Gen Z buyers, for whom inclusivity, sustainability, transparency and traceability are not negotiable, already have changed the way brands do business.

Why would Gen Z want watches? They all have a smartphone, and they all complain ceaselessly about the finaicial burdens of adulting. Why, then, would something as irrelevant to their existence matter?

Born between 1997 and 2012, members of that generation, together with millennials, are expected to account for 70 percent of the global personal luxury goods market by 2025, according to a November 2021 report by the management consulting firm Bain & Company And they are quickly reframing the meaning of luxury.

Ziad Ahmed, the 23-year-old chief executive and co-founder of JUV Consulting, a New York-based firm that advises companies on how to market to Gen Z, said he hoped that companies would commit to making a really good product “that prioritizes people and planet every step of the way.”

In practice, Mr. Ahmed explained, that means what he called a “thoughtful and sustainable” supply chain centered on local production and well-compensated workers.

What multinational company with a legacy of luxury wouldn’t turn to the insights of a 23-year-old to “frame” its future? After all, isn’t the first thing you notice about a wristwatch how well compensated its workers are? And the second thing is its “upcycled” plastic face, made of old plastic bottles. If that doesn’t scream “luxury,” what does?

“How do we embrace the circular economy? How do we uplift and empower diverse communities? How do we give back in a sustainable and purpose-driven way?” Mr. Ahmed said. “I believe there will still be a place in 25 years for goods that are made with a lot of intentionality. But they can’t exist in a silo. A company culture of giving back is really important.”

A bit of vapid jargon combined with the best foresight a child can muster is surely a worthy bet for the future, 25 years from now. Or watch makers, realizing that Gen Z doesn’t need watches anymore and can’t afford a decent watch in any event, recognize that they’re on the verge of irrelevance and have to play into the economic ignorance of the most simplistic generation if they’re going to survive. Make dreck and spin it to manipulate their feelings is the new marketing strategy, and the kids might buy it even as they can’t pay their rent, which they shouldn’t have to because housing is a right.

Ocasio-Cortez and the other 97 members of the House Progressive Caucus are calling on Biden to issue executive orders to enact environmental protections, lower health-care costs, cancel federal student-loan debts, and expand protections for immigrants.

“If the president does pursue and start to govern decisively using executive action and other tools at his disposal, I think we’re in the game,” she said. “But if we decide to just kind of sit back for the rest of the year and not change people’s lives — yeah, I do think we’re in trouble. So I don’t think that it’s set in stone. I think that we can determine our destiny here.”

Say what you will about AOC, but she is the embodiment of this new pathos, demanding the accomplishment of her goals by any means necessary. Can’t pass a law? Just do it by fiat. Why not issue Executive Orders that ignore the enactment of law, the existence of a Congress, if it means you get what you want. Sure, it was horrible when the last administration did it, but they were bad and she is good, so anything that accomplishes what she wants must, by definition, be good.

You might wonder how to pay for her wish list, but that’s easy. Take money from those who have it and give it to those who don’t. Or just print more. And when more money is needed, take more and print more. What’s your problem? Just like the little kid who wants watch companies to have “well-compensated workers,” it’s not as if this means the price of watches has to go up to pay the price. Companies are greedy and don’t deserve to make a filthy profit, so they can just pay workers more, sell watches for a loss, live off their legacy earnings of the past before they achieve their future of making charitable watches.

In nearly every aspect of politics that matters — re-election itself, fundraising ability, grooming younger politicians, staying in the national spotlight — Ocasio-Cortez is considerably more powerful now than when she exploded onto the scene in 2018. Should that trend continue, imagine what things will look like if Ocasio-Cortez remains in Congress until she reaches the average age of a member of the House: 57 years old.

Will they grow up? Will they learn from history or deny its relevance, since everything that happened in the past was either racist, sexist or just plain wrong. After all, look where we are now, in the worst of times ever. Everybody says so. At least everybody under 30, all of whom are far more brilliant and moral than anyone who has ever existed in the history of humanity.

That would happen in the year 2046. And by then, her seemingly fight-the-power thinking, style, and positions could well be the norm in New York politics. Don’t say you didn’t see it coming.

We can laugh at the political and economic illiteracy of Gen Z, the arrogance of believing that they’ve “discovered” the simple truths that have eluded the rest of humanity since its inception. We can warn them that the invisible hand won’t drop magical wads of cash to pay for their Utopia, and even if it did, it’s not going to turn as Utopian as they believe because people are still people, greedy, nasty and self-serving.

Whether there will still be watchmakers in 2046 is unclear, but they’re going to sell as much garbage to the dolts as they can while they’re still in business. After all, if they’re dumb enough to buy what AOC is selling, they’ll buy anything.