The New Left, the new class and socialism [1]

The New Left of the sixties has been eulogized in the mass media in recent years. Former activists have entered specific employment areas associated with the public sector, although many have retained a political commitment consonant with their previous activities and beliefs. Using interview data gathered in Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States in 1977 and 1978, the author analyzes the nature and trajectory of the New Left. He finds that the ambivalent character of the movement was an expression of the relations of a specific generation of learners to the deterioration of the condition of intellectual labor in society.