Introduction Watching the documentary “Berkeley in the Sixties” comes in very handy, within a context of discussing differences between generations. It portrays Berkley’s students as being utterly passionate about defending their political stance, which happened to be a neo-Liberalism. The neo-Liberalism has its roots in materialism, as the way of perceiving reality and therefore, can be closely linked to Marxism. This explains the fact why the young protesters against Vietnam War, shown in the documentary, often do not hesitate describing themselves as Communists or Marxists. However, what strikes viewers as very odd is the fact that, while promoting purely materialistic Liberal values, the majority of Berkley’s students in sixties, acted as classical idealists, who thought that their political activity had value in itself. This brings us closer to realization of what constitutes a difference between the generation of “baby boomers” and “generation X”. Apparently, the majority of “baby boomers” felt themselves as being a part of historical process, whereas the lifestyle of most of people associated with “generation X” is being marked with social absenteeism. This paper is aimed at substantiating this thesis. Main body In his lecture “The Problem of Generations: Family, Economy, Politics”, Martin Kohli is making a good point when he suggests that: “Human generations lie at the root of social dynamics in all spheres of social life – not only in politics but also in the economy and the family. The sequence of generations is about continuity and conflict” (Kohli, p.4). In other words, the existence of social or political conflict, with which young people can associate themselves, is vital, within a context of these people realizing themselves as belonging to a particular generation. In her article “Gen (Fill in the Blank): Coming of Age, Seeking and Identity”, Arlie Russell Hochschild provides us with the insight on Karl Mannheim’s definition of generation, which still remains valid: “Generation is a cohort of people who feel the impact of a powerful historical event and develop a shared consciousness about it”(Hochschild). The world in sixties was much different, comparing to what it is now. The economy in America was on the rise, while the power of organized religion was steadily declining. In its turn, this brought about a situation when young people of the time were slowly realizing that their opinion really does matter. The fact that “baby boomers” often came from families affected by WW2, resulted in them being aware of what the concept of sacrifice for the sake of higher good stands for. This is why “Berkeley in the Sixties” portrays the majority of students as such that are willing to take a risk of being expelled from university, as the ultimate price for making themselves heard. This is because in sixties, in order for the individual to gain a social prominence, he would have to prove that he is capable of taking risks, he would have to prove its existential uniqueness. In eighties, it was no longer the case. The dogma of political correctness resulted in creating a situation, when the possession of prominent personal qualities, on the part of every part