Abstract
This paper deals with the second half of the 1960s ("the long 1968") and takes it as a transitional phase, as the end of one era, but as the end in which some components of the forthcoming period are already present. In both the East and the West of the Cold War world, the 1960 s are characterized by two elements - utopian and anti-authoritarian, where the events of 1968 cause especially the weakening of the utopian element in favour of the anti-authoritarian one.
While comparing the end of the 1960s with the end of the 1970s, this paper points out the transition from former visions of comprehensive collective projects towards the emphasis on individual rights. One of the causes of this transition and also one of the consequences of 1968 is the newly emptied ideological space which emerged in the context of critiques of the old "social-regulatory" system and after the unsuccessful attempts at radical political transformation.