Welcome to Underdog Press – it’s not a brand name as such, at least not one owned by us, its just a symbolic description of the kind of thing we like to write about. That thing is the anti-establishment view and the publications that support the cause.
The term anti-establishment refers to something approximating the following:
‘Marked by opposition or hostility to conventional social, political, or economic values or principles.’
First coined by The New Statesman magazine in the United Kingdom in 1958, the concept of opposition to the establishment is clearly something that has been in existence as long as there has been an establishment. A country with an historically, clearly defined class structure such as the United Kingdom obviously has (or had) an elite. The monarchy, the Church and the government all feature as part of that elite and therefore as part of an homogenous establishment and it’s not hard to find reasons to rebel against those authorities.
In the United States anti-establishment can have a slightly different meaning; it generally refers to the movement that began post World War II with disillusionment felt by war veterans. It continued into the 1950s and 1960s as various counter-culture groups expressed their displeasure at cold war politics, religious interference in everyday lives and an increase in personal freedom (or at least the belief that should be more freedom).
This website looks mainly at the various publications that have emerged over the years around the world in support of the movement but also at the cause in general – it’s history and most famous supporters and proponents – so check back regularly for more anti-establishment information.