Hippies comes up in 4 chapters across 4 episodes of The Higherside Chats Free Show, from June 2017 to May 2021.
Counterculture Decline, Neo-Paganism and Selling Out
The decline of the neo-pagan and New Age movements since their peak in 2007 is compared to the "selling out" of the 1960s hippie counterculture. As these movements became mass-marketed and aligned with the status quo, they lost their potency, leading to the eventual failure of pop-culture magic like the Magic Resistance.
LSD, Marijuana, and the Accidental Birth of the Internet
The drug culture of the 1960s is described as a psychological warfare operation intended to disrupt social order. While heroin and marijuana were used for control and stigmatization, Milligan suggests that LSD was less predictable for the state. He notes the irony that the "hippie" generation ultimately produced the personal computer and the internet, tools now used to combat government corruption.
Reformation of the Priesthood, Critique of Hippie Movement
Crowley is presented as a figure in the reformation tradition, seeking to strip power from organized priesthoods and restore primal power to the individual. Churton argues that Crowley would have disliked the 1960s hippie movement due to its perceived lack of self-discipline. He emphasizes that Crowley's "New Age" was intended to be one of rigorous self-mastery rather than the unstructured rebellion often associated with his legacy.
Sexual Expertise, Generated Intimacy and Anti-War Sentiment
Habib challenges the notion of sexual expertise, suggesting that true expertise requires a vast and diverse range of experiences beyond the cultural norm. He argues that intimacy and attraction can be consciously generated rather than just being a result of random "chemistry." He links this ability to generate intimacy with anyone to a radical anti-war philosophy, suggesting that if people could connect sexually and intimately at will, the desire for state-sponsored violence would diminish.
