The New Left
What was the ‘new left’ and what did it accomplish?
As the baby boomer generation begins to come of age, a new era of activism develops in America. The New Left develops in response to the desire for social change in America. The New Left proposes to combat civil wrongs and poverty in an era of cold war fears and opposition to foreign entanglements. Student organizations such as the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) push the agenda of the New Left movement. The SDS sought societal reconstruction, shunning systems of “power rooted in possession, privilege, or circumstance (323).” The New Left was a divided movement between politics and culture.
Reflected in the development of organizations such as the Students for a Democratic Society is the early history of the New Left. The Port Huron Statement, presented at the SDS annual convention, is an example of utopian desires and hope for a society abandoning racial prejudice, and eliminating poverty. The statement expresses Cold War fears, stating an awareness of mortality and realization that nuclear capabilities imperil the safety of society. SDS spoke against the materialism of society and indifference of and uninformed populace. They mourned the loss of idealism, believing it replaced by theoretic chaos (326). SDS proposed to seek a democracy where man could reach his full potential, where every man participated, and every individual had a say in the decisions of life. They sought public groupings, collective creativity, educative incentives, not material wealth, as well as an economy with resources open to all and governed by social regulation (328). Ultimately, the America that the SDS proclaimed to seek was an American commune where everyone lived happily ever after without the realism of the world stage. Other groups such as Young Americans for Freedom were less kumbaya, supporting American political and economic system organization while calling for accountability when such when beyond the realm of practicality threatening order and liberty. However, more radical groups such as the Weathermen proclaimed the United States obtained prosperity through the oppression of the Third World, calling for the destruction of U.S. imperialism and establishment of world communism.
Some abandoned their New Left proclamations to embrace the reality of moderation. Pete Collier and David Horowitz describe the New Left movement as “self-aggrandizing romance with corrupt Third Worldism . . .Soviet totalitarianism . . . hypocritical and self-dramatising anti-Americanism (334).” According to those driving the New Left, America was responsible for the nations racial and economic oppression as well as the oppression of the Third World failing to recognize the faults of brutal dictatorships.
Despite the radicalism of the New Left positive accomplishments in American society resulted from New Left activism. The Civil Rights movement resulted in voting rights and improved treatment for African Americans. Anti-war protests forced the government to evaluate foreign policy and Cold War decisions. Students gained a voice on university campuses. Eighteen year olds gained voting rights, and America saw the rebirth of the women’s movement. In addition, the nation became more environmentally conscious forcing a change in national and corporate policy. Due to the New Left movement, Americans in general became more socially aware of the problems facing the impoverished and underprivileged. Political parties were forced to adapt to the awareness to satisfy constituency.
The New Left movement developed out of a frustration for society’s struggles and the desire of young college students to make their mark on a world they viewed as unjust. Idealistic, they sought a utopia that the realities of society do not allow. Desiring to make right the ills of society some participants of the New Left movement took to activism while others chose to isolate themselves on community farms where small-scale socialism was operable. Blind to the positives of America, and protesting the ills of American society some New Left participants justified Soviet imperialism and communist oppression in areas such as Cambodia.
December 15 2005 04:00 pm | History and Ramblings
February 2nd, 2006 at 10:26 pm
I was interested in your comments concerning the New Left. As a student of the sixties, I couldn’t agree with you more. I remember the youth with means (at least their family had means) becoming the Hippie Culture. In the late sixties there must have been several hundred of them living on the streets around Georgia Tech and 10th Street in Atlanta. They seemed so lost not being able to embrace the society of their parents and having no real alternative. I believe their experience percifitated the different movements which have ultimately arrived at the New Left.
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Absolutely and I think the change is continual. Somehow, I can’t imagine that with the selfishness of today that the New Left shift will ever be as drastic as the 60s.
Thanks for stopping by!