Obviously it's a simplification to try lump every western democracy in the same basket but, speaking in broad strokes, many countries are facing issues with expensive housing (with few new projects being built, due to the vested interests of existing property owners), lack of infrastructure investment, NIMBY, etc.

This is coupled with the Baby Boomer generation, itself the most numerous of the 20th century generational cohorts, moving into older age (where people are generally settled with the wealth they've made), which is also the demographic most likely to engage with/in politics (e.g. by voting).

To that end, has the West seen a sort of political dominance by a generational cohort that is able to wield largely unchallenged influence in politics? And is this something that has a precedent? Have there been other eras in democracies where a population explosion led to a generation that was empowered to quite blatantly pursue its own interests at the expense of other cohorts?

I suppose my question is an attempt to put politics/ideologies aside and simplify the current misbalance of how society seems set up to cater to people and explain it as a case of naked generational self-interest that has been enabled by the sheer overwhelming number (and according influence) of one particular cohort.