Turbulo at aol.com wrote:
>
>
> The sixties were an exceptional period in the capitalist history. The
> rebellion of middle-class students undoubtedly spilled over for a
> short time into the working class (much more so in France, Italy and
> Portugal than in the US). Some real gains did result.
I see the student "revolt" _itself_ as primarily working-class; many (not all) of the "stars" of the movement came from independent professional or small-capitalist backgrounds, and a number were headed in that direction, but the vast majority were were to become dependence on a monthly paycheck for the rest of their lives. The problem was not that non-working class students were unable to link up with the working class; the problem was that different sectors ("racial," gender, educational or skill level, etc.) were unable to recognize their shared class interests. But of course that always been true of even industrial workers as well.
When the next "punctuation" in u.s. politics emerges, a major task of leftists will be to disabuse their fellow workers of the myth of "middle class."
Carrol