In the late 1970s, a new offshoot of the punk rock movement emerged, eventually deemed “hardcore.” Two acts have been credited with catalyzing the movement: Middle Class, a punk rock band formed in Santa Ana, released the single “Out of Vogue,” a thrashing rejection of consumerism timed at just one minute. Simultaneously, Hermosa Beach natives Black Flag released their debut EP titled “Nervous Breakdown.” Stylistic differences allowed hardcore to extract the anger from conventional punk rock and plug it into a harsher and more volatile equation. This equation includes an intrinsic dissatisfaction with capitalism, even as artists vary in their overt political devotions.

Hardcore as a genre is ambiguous, with many subgenres fitting its description. High tempo beats, cheap production and strident vocal styles are characteristic of hardcore. While some early hardcore bands simply aimed to release adolescent anger, the hardcore community’s rejection of the traditional record-making process made them reminiscent of a more liberated rendition of the “freak flag” waving generation. Seminal hardcore band Minor Threat took the rejection of the record industry to new lengths with their do-it-yourself style. Fronted by Ian MacKaye, the band pressed, distributed and promoted their own albums, while selling them at a cheaper price. Other independent alternative labels, such as Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles and Greg Ginn’s SST Records, allowed for increased artistic freedom. Some bands from the 1960s and early 1970s did not have this option and had to capitulate to the demands of record executives if their art wanted to see the light of the day. For example, Lou Reed’s ambient instrumental album “Metal Machine Music” was taken off the market after its release for its inability to appeal to a wide audience.

Despite being contrarian to nearly all social norms, much of early punk from 1977 to the early 1980s did not have much more meaningful substance than that, with exceptions such as The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. Discharge, a British punk band founded in the late 1970s, used anarchist and pacifist messaging in their lyrics, allowing extreme punk subgenres to emerge. Other anarchist punk bands, such as Crass and Subhumans, also preached a more aggressive type of anarchy in their songs.

Hardcore punk movements may not have always been directly political, but their anger and nihilism reflect capitalism’s cultural and social infestation. Youth restlessness can be seen throughout hardcore’s lyricism, album imagery and stage performances carried out with reckless abandon. Hardcore ethics and social views are not homogenous, but they tend to hold communal living, anti-rich and anti-government beliefs.

The hardcore scene today is more about creating a sense of community, rather than a stint to be legally violent in the ’80s. Women have more opportunity to express themselves, in part due to the Riot Grrrl movement of the Northwest that, while far from perfect, has been a big shift in the right direction. Sexual assault and violence is less tolerated now than in the ‘80s, with efforts to prevent sexual assault in the punk scene. The same goes for diversity in general. While there were always hardcore groups with racially diverse lineups, such as Bad Brains or Los Crudos, they are now being increasingly platformed.

I would be remiss to not address the problem of right-wing extremism in hardcore. Political extremism is reflected in extreme musical genres, which is why the subculture of Nazi skinheads arose. The Nazi skinheads misplaced punk’s anger and dissatisfaction by directing it toward minorities rather than capitalism. Dismissing Nazi skinheads as being victims or clueless, however, is also dangerous. Protecting minorities in the hardcore scene is most important, and that protection is reliant upon zero tolerance for Nazi skinheads. Despite right-wing extremist efforts to co-opt local hardcore and skinhead scenes, the overwhelming majority of the punk community reject their bigotry. A variety of hardcore songs by bands such as Doom, Dead Kennedys, The Dicks and Leftöver Crack condemn Nazism within punk.

Punk circles were initially created to give voices to people left behind, but hardcore invited people to scream so loud that nobody could ignore them. And while the majority went on to ignore them, communities centered on solidarity and mutual aid emerged, leaving the rest of the country irrelevant to those within scenes. A sense of communal experience and collectivism characterizes many scenes, and that’s as anti-capitalist as you get. Despite some using their voices to spew hatred and bigotry, the act of giving a voice to those without one is inherently anti-capitalist, as capitalism is all-encompassing. Still, they are plagued with the same problems that American anti-capitalist movements have always been plagued with. Sectarian feuds between subgenres fighting over who is the truest embodiment of punk undermines the mission of hardcore. There is also a prevalence of dogmatism that can turn off people who are otherwise interested in joining the movement. Much like the American left, they have to address and fix these issues, but hardcore is an untapped ally in furthering the anti-capitalist cause.

Nathan Sommer is a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and law.