In the Iggy Pop documentary "Gimme Ganger" he makes a passing remark regarding the 60's hippe movement as being "manufactured in a board room". Was there involvement from established political groups in the counterculture movement? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

In the Iggy Pop documentary "Gimme Ganger" he makes a passing remark regarding the 60's hippe movement as being "manufactured in a board room". Was there involvement from established political groups in the counterculture movement?

by sirhcthatsme

Specifically, is there any reason to believe that the hippie movement was backed or encouraged by political groups in Washington who had ulterior motives behind it? With communism also playing a part, is there any evidence of foreign Infulence on the "peace and love" ideals popular at the time?

EDIT: title should read "Gimmie Danger"

Deirdre_Rose

I think generally the background for this viewpoint is along the lines of Bakhtin's idea of the carnivalesque, ie, something that appears to be alternative / a rejection of society is actually more of a "pressure valve" which allows for "rebellion" in a way that is separated from the actual structures of power so that the suppressed can express their unhappiness then be reintegrated into society without anything actually changing. (Similar things have been said about other anti-government resistance movements, eg occupy wall street, that made participants feel like they were rebelling while no actual structural change happened.)