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THE PSYCHOANALYTIC INVESTIGATION OF THE WORLDWIDE STUdent protests and rebellions of the 1960s, which were the topic of a panel discussion at the 26th Congress of the International Psycho-Analytical Association (see Francis, 1970), has so far led to one generally agreed-upon conclusion—that they are based on unresolved oedipal conflicts. Yet, if one takes into account the great variations in the vicissitudes and resolutions of these conflicts which are held responsible for the revolutionary attitudes and their symptomatic manifestations, the explanatory value of this statement must be questioned. The purpose of this essay is to describe further differentiations in the psychic processes that lead to these explosive social phenomena.
Elsewhere (1970) I have pointed out that the oedipal constellations which the literature regards as the most important motivation in the choice of the protest appear to be mutually exclusive. The many variables that are at work are further multiplied by the predominant conflicts of the preoedipal phases and the experiences and transformations that occur during adolescence. In addition, they frequently lead to severe