Hi Al....nice to talk to you again. At the time of the revival all communists were regarded as "extremists" by employers AND the general public.
I got married at the end of the 60's a was rented a house owned by my employer....we had four children under four, and if my political views had been discovered we would have been out on the street.
Communists never got much public support, many hid under the label of "democratic socialist" or just "left wing".
Looking back at MacColl, Pete Seeger and other hero's of the comrades I think how lucky we are to have been rejected. As I said in another thread the trade off between an "organised society" and the faux democracy we enjoy today is too much of a negative.
I still think that we shall end up under a Chinese type of society, which will ensure our survival for afew more decades....but will be no fun at all.