Doug countered:
> Oh come on. Relations between the sexes and among the races are far
> better than they were in the 1950s, as is the treatment of sexual
> minorities. Childrearing is more humane too; parents and children get
> along with each other better than they did a generation or two ago. I
> know there's a temptation to dismiss this as the realm of the "merely
> cultural," but it makes daily life a lot better.
>
I tend to agree with Carl. The "waste of time" is too polite a description of what amounted to goofing around. As someone aptly described that ere - men were making a revolution, while women were making coffee. Except that "making revolution" is not very accurate - "making fools of themselves" is probably more adequate.
Any improvements in the treatment of women and other minorities are owed to the following factors: - wars that the US were waging which empowered ethnic minorities who actually fought them (e.g. fragging); - cold war and the specter of communism - which made the US elites to make concessions - capitalist efficiency and taylorisation - women and minorities made more "efficient" (= less paid) workers in the taylorised workplace; the growing supply of academic institutions and their competitions for students that drew more and more minorities to higher education.
As to childrearing - I would hesitate to use the word "more humane." I would describe it as more alienated and detached, with less and less interaction and concentrated on consumption and status- and thus creating fewer opportunities for any intense emotions and affections, be it sympathetic or conflicting.
The life is better today not because of the goofy 1960s counterculture but because of the vast increases in the material production, especially consumer goods, that took place after World War II.
Wojtek