| Life history interviews with a group of former student activists (most of whom had stood trial for the burning of the Bank of America in Isla Vista, California in 1970) and a sample of their nonactivist contemporaries suggest that lay and social-scientific interpretations of the fate of young radicals that emphasize themes of adjustment disillusionment, and co-optation are seriously flawed. While these themes are evident in the life course of formerly "revolutionary" youth, they are overshadowed by both personal and collective efforts to remain accountable to the values embodied in the New Left and to reshape the meaning of adult development in our culture, rather than conform to prevailing patterns. |
