“Our community was born out of a desire to escape the commercialized existence of the modern city. In our group, we do not have bosses, rent, or television sets. We grow our own food, share our resources, and make decisions collectively. The goal is to live in harmony with nature and free ourselves from the competitive drive for status and material goods that defines middle-class American life.”
—Statement from a member of an Oregon commune, 1971
The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following historical trends of the late 1960s and early 1970s?
- AThe expanding influence of federal Great Society programs designed to eliminate rural poverty through agricultural subsidies.
- The development of a counterculture that rejected consumerism and suburban social norms in favor of alternative lifestyles.Answer
- CThe emergence of a unified coalition between counterculture youth and mainstream civil rights organizations advocating for urban integration.
- DThe mass mobilization of young activists following the immediate passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to establish rural defense bases.
Answer
The development of a counterculture that rejected consumerism and suburban social norms in favor of alternative lifestyles.
The correct answer is correct because the commune movement represented a distinct facet of the counterculture in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where participants sought to build cooperative communities that explicitly rejected the materialist values, corporate careers, and suburban lifestyles of postwar America.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The Counterculture and Youth Rebellion of the 1960s and 1970s
Estimated Time:1m 30s