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The spirit of 1968 is inextinguishable – even 50 years later

This rebellious era shaped radical activists – and aggressive capitalists. What can we learn from 1968, for democratic change today?

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A group of people raising their hands in Barcelona.

Indignados protest, 2011. Photo: Fotomovimiento/Flickr. CC-BY-2.0. Some rights reserved.

Capitalist adventurer Richard Branson and cultural and political rebel Tariq Ali were both shaped by the experiences of 1968 – and, significantly, the years that preceded and followed it. These rebellious years shaped a generation but produced ways of thinking that, in retrospect, have turned out to be complex and ambivalent.