Time is the overarching theme in The Fourth Turning. The concept of time as it relates to history and human life is the central tenet of Strauss and Howe’s theories concerning turnings, generations, and archetypes. Concrete spans of time are also critical to understanding these ideas. For example, each of the four turnings within a saeculum lasts roughly 20 years before the mood of the nation changes drastically and a new turning emerges. Roughly 20 years is also the time period between generations. Similarly, the span of each of the four life phases (childhood, young adulthood, midlife, and elderhood) is also roughly 20 years. Rather than being coincidental, these similar spans of time exist because they are all interconnected and affect one another.

In their introductory chapter, Strauss and Howe recognize time as a theme to their work. They explain that “[O]ver the millennia, man has developed three ways of thinking about time: chaotic, cyclical, and linear. The first was the dominant view of primitive man, the second of ancient and traditional civilizations, and the third of the modern West, especially America” (8). Chaotic time conceives of events as random, resulting in history having no path forward or backward and society having no connective tissue.