Youth Uprising in Europe

In the 1960's the future of European society started to shift. With much of Europe being fully recovered from World War II many countries began to prosper through new industry and growth. After the war there was a huge population boost called the "baby boomer" generation. As this new generation grew their beliefs of such topics of sexual freedom, empowerment of women, and political reformation began to challenge the (at the time) current morally bound belief system in stored throughout Europe. This collection of youth would soon spark revolutions throughout not just in Europe but western society as a whole. The youth revolutions of the 1960's would similarly reflect the French Revolution and forms of Marx's socialism through ideas of abolishing the class system and through their strong beliefs in protecting personal freedoms.

In France in the 1960's a popular political belief among college students was the abolishment of the current class system and move towards a socialist based political arrangement that would put working class people in politics. Many believed that if a student came from the working class he would be leaving his class, on the other hand if a student comes from the middle class society he has embraced what it means to be middle class. This idea of classes did not sit with this youth unrest in France because of their desire to create a true socialist government in France. " The form that your struggle has taken offers us students the model of true socialist activity: the appropriation of the means of production and decision making power by the workers," this a direct quote from a pamphlet distributed to striking workers by students (Weisner 376). This quote helps solidify the student's goals of create a socialist government and abolishing any power held by upper classes it also associates the students with factory workers.

While incorporating their political beliefs into society the students other accomplishments included educating women to be empowered. In a poster from May of 1968 a woman appears to be throwing something that appears to be a brick. The woman looks very young, which puts her in the same age group as the college students issuing out these posters. The artist puts in the words "la beaute est dans la rue" which means beauty in the streets (Weisner 381). This poster is comparable to the Uncle Sam posters from the United States calling for enlistment of women into their student army. This ideal of the empowerment of women is similar towards the role that women had in the French Revolution. Women in the French revolution fought for equal political rights now the women are fighting for equal social rights such as freedom of sexuality and equality in the workplace. Although these goals are different the focus of these women are the same.

Another image that represents the students' vision is a cartoon from May 1968 (Weisner 382). Unlike the poster