At what point did the Left* begin to dominate Punk subculture? The Left has always been a presence, but criticizing Leftism, even for the sake of a joke, was historically allowed, especially if you had a good sense of humor.
I was actually inspired by one of the previous threads we've had and a musing from a friend who was a Hippie in the '60s and '70s.
The Hippies were more optimistic about the possibilities of social, cultural, and political change, whereas the Punks - having learned a lesson from the failure of the hippies to transform mainstream society - were generally more cynical about those possibilities. Even so, both countercultures rebelled against mainstream society and the political system, and both were pissed off and into a cornucopia of earthly delights, especially sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Then, the New Left successfully co-opted the Hippie Movement in the late '60s. Hijacking the subculture was no challenge since outsiders started trickling into the scene, often those who had no clue about, or were even diametrically opposed to, the movement's actual values. The influx of sectarian political activists, petty underclass criminals, hard drug addicts, jocks and outlaw bikers drove the final nail in the coffin.
History repeated itself with the Punks, so all their cynicism did little to overcome the errors of the Hippies. Countercultures challenge or oppose the core values and assumptions of the social and political establishment, but both the Hippies and Punks ceased to be anything more than subcultures, which exist for trends, be they Skinheads, Metalheads, Grungeheads, et cetera.
What happened, Sup Forums? Why is Punk so stuffy, square, leftist and humorless these days?
*For the sake of argument, let's assume the Left includes egalitarian idealists, post-structuralists, progressives, feminists, queer theorists, anarchists, Marxists, socialists, communists.
