Interviewing many co-op founders, it has been striking that so many young radicals of the time were so inspired by Mao and the Chinese revolution. While the glum bureaucracy of the Soviet Union was hardly compelling, the apparent energy of the Chinese revolution, along with the Marxist revolutions throughout the Third World, seemed like a viable alternative to American capitalism and imperialism...
A Song and a Dream
Another clip from Ed Felien’s Georgeville commune film, featuring a lovely song that, for me, epitomizes the optimism and confidence that allowed some in the Baby Boom generation to believe they could remake the world, which in turn allowed them to create so many things that we take for granted these days (like natural food co-ops).