An
anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the
British magazine
New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda.
[1] The term can be distinguished from
counterculture, a word normally used to describe artistic rather than political movements that run against the prevailing taste and values of the time.
[citation needed]Although the term has retained its original meaning in British English and continues to be applied to various individuals and groups, in American English the term is used more specifically to describe certain social and political movements that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s.[citation needed]
In the UK anti-establishment figures and groups are seen as those who argue or act against the ruling class. Having an established church, a British monarchy, an aristocracy, and an unelected upper house in Parliament made up in part by hereditary nobles, the UK certainly has a clearly definable Establishment against which anti-establishment figures can be contrasted. In particular, satirical humour is commonly used to undermine the deference shown by the majority of the population towards those who govern them. Examples of British anti-establishment satire include much of the humour of Peter Cook and Ben Elton; novels such as Rumpole of the Bailey; magazines such as Private Eye; and television programmes like Spitting Image, Rumpole of the Bailey, That Was The Week That Was, and The Prisoner (see also the satire boom of the 1960s). Anti-establishment themes also can be seen in the novels of writers such as Will Self.[2]
However, by operating through the arts and media, the line between politics and culture is blurred, so that pigeonholing figures such as Banksy as either anti-establishment or counter-culture figures can be difficult. [3] The tabloid newspapers such as The Sun, are less subtle, and commonly report on the sex-lives of the Royals simply because it sells papers, but in the process have been described as having anti-establishment views that have weakened traditional institutions. [4] On the other hand, as time passes, anti-establishment figures sometimes end up becoming part of the Establishment, as when The Who frontman Roger Daltrey was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 in recognition of both his music and his work for charity. [5]
