I think it's less about ability to retire early, more about realization that being forced to sell one's life and freedom to an employer is not only miserable, b

I think it's less about ability to retire early, more about realization that being forced to sell one's life and freedom to an employer is not only miserable, but completely unnecessary for society to function (eg. with a UBI society would carry on just fine, and likely accelerate automation). The older generation didn't grow up with technology so perhaps it's not as obvious to them.