I've actually thought long and hard about this in recent times, and here's my theory -
those that were supposedly 'anti-establishment' in those days are actually very conservative people. I've been lucky to be friends with some famous musical people on Facebook, some of them are like legends to me in the alternative music world (well, here in New Zealand), but here's the thing: they may be considered 'left-wing or socialist and concerned about people and social issues - BUT they are very close-minded when it comes to discussing solutions and alternatives to social problems. They become overly wrapped up in humanitarian matters to not realise that they are part of the problem by sticking with established systems and paradigms that we all know don't work in all situations.
I'm beginning to think some of the 'punks' in the 1970s were not really one to advocate anarchy at all - they just wanted to look tough with a mohawk and their studded belts. They were in it for the fashion statement and to look the part. They truly would prefer to curl up with a good book under an open fire and stick their fingers in their ears and go
'la-la-la there are no problems with the world - everything is all fine here in my cocoon'. So here we have the problem - in the 1960s and 70s, the people we would consider as those with a musically political/social conscience are the folk we would've considered 'alternative' at the time. Fast-forward to today, and the 'alternative' folk are inspired by punk idols that would rather rest up in their easy chair than be mad at the world. Chrissie Hynde would be one of the few ladies still speaking out against the way women in pop today parade themselves around like prostitutes.
But we also have a new phenomenon, and it's taking place on social media - where people are afraid to say what they really want to say because they fear upsetting their 'friends' and they in turn hush them down if they do speak out because 'no one wants to hear bad things going on in the world happening on their news feed'. To me this is the emergence of the self-correcting hive mind dystopia and the doublethink/groupthink in George Orwell's 1984 - and combine that with the lazy smartphone culture we have today where people are dazed and drained of all cultural awareness.. the notion of the nuclear family is no longer a norm, and we don't really have any political musical performers anymore. Most people would simply reply with
"..WAT?" We are people with no compass, no direction, society has become a dreary haze. How are we going to see the next Joe Strummer on the scene in a world such as this?
Sorry for the depressing post, but that's just the way I see it right now.