The World at That Time: A Planet in Flux
To grasp the changes of the 1960s, one must first understand the world that entered it. The planet was deeply fractured by the Cold War, a tense ideological struggle between two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. This bipolar contest shaped international alliances, fueled proxy wars, and drove a terrifying nuclear arms race. The “Iron Curtain” was a stark reality dividing Europe, while the fear of nuclear annihilation, crystallized by the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, was a constant, low-humming anxiety for millions.
Simultaneously, a powerful wave of decolonization was cresting. The old European colonial empires, weakened by two world wars, were rapidly disintegrating. The 1950s had seen independence for major nations like India, but 1960 itself became known as the “Year of Africa,” with an incredible seventeen nations on the continent gaining independence. This created a new bloc of nations, many of which sought to forge a “Third Way” through the Non-Aligned Movement, refusing to formally side with either Washington or Moscow. These newly independent states faced immense challenges: building national identities, establishing stable governments, and overcoming the economic legacies of colonial exploitation.
Economically, the world was a study in contrasts. Much of the Western world, along with Japan, was experiencing a post-war economic boom, leading to rising standards of living, consumerism, and the growth of a new, educated middle class. It was this prosperity that provided the foundation for the youth culture and social movements that would define the decade. In contrast, much of the developing world, including Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia, grappled with poverty, political instability, and the complex transition from colonial or agrarian economies to modern industrial states. This global landscape—a tense Cold War, a wave of post-colonial nation-building, and vast economic disparities—set the stage for the dramatic events to come.
