Dale Johnson, in his “On the Ideology of the Campus Revolution” [1] begins his comparison by stressing that The Cuban and campus movements are similar ideologically- that their goals, beliefs, and actions share common ground. He then lists the key words/concepts that he perceives these shared traits to be. First is their willingness to dissent- to stand strong in their beliefs and be ready to speak and to act on their behalf, even in the face of government opposition.

His next point is their shared pragmatism, which simply means both movements are sensible and direct- no B.S. or fancy theories, no lofty theoretical goals or long-term agendas. You see a problem- you fix it. That's the essence of being pragmatic. The police are getting ready to drive a student away to be booked for protesting, and you don't want it to happen- surround the vehicle so it cannot leave. Simple!

The two movements were both inexperienced. They were sailing in strange waters; protests such as these were a fairly new tactic, and there was no instruction manual. The methods and strategies sometimes had to be invented as needed, depending on the situation. Television reporting helped their causes, and was still a relatively new medium itself. Think of the chant that often erupted spontaneously when protesters saw the TV cameras arrive: “The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!” This was new and empowering (and quite intimidating to the authorities attempting to end a demonstration).

Finally, and most important in Johnson's view, he defined their shared ideology as a “refreshing combination of humanism and rationalism” [1]. Each movement saw corruption and injustice in the system and took the side of the humans being oppressed. They were rational in their approach, and also in accepting the risks involved.

[1]Johnson, Dale. "On the Ideology of the Campus Revolution".The Movements of the New Left 1950-1975. Comp. Gosse, Van. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2005. 57-60. Print.