Part of the context of the narrator’s life in Ishmael, and the context of Ishmael’s lessons, are the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Though these anti-establishment movements are largely associated with United States history, such movements were popular throughout Europe and in countries that were heavily influenced by American and European cultural trends. Ideologically, such movements were generally left-leaning, meaning they favored scaling back military investment and involvement, increasing spending on institutional support for marginalized and underprivileged peoples, and embracing elements of diversity, religious and spiritual freedom, and communal lifestyles. In many ways, counterculture was aimed at dismantling the superstructures of contemporary society, such as racism, sexism, and classism, and opposing the rapid increase in corporate control over daily life in the form of propaganda, advertisements, and unsafe or overly demanding working conditions.

An important element of counterculture was the preservation and appreciation of indigenous and marginalized cultures, such as those of North and South America, Africa, and Asia, as well as conservation of wildlife and the global ecosystem. After the rapid increase of industrialization during the first half of the 20th century, many within counterculture movements foresaw the lasting effects of pollution, deforestation, and overpopulation, which would later become focal points for specific environmentalist movements.