Punk is dead - observations

I was getting into the first avenue L train this evening when I came upon a large group of punks. They looked like punks: Doc Martins, paperclips through ears, purple hair, the whole thing. They sounded like punks: yelling loudly, sliding on bannisters, making a scene. But then I noticed a group of them buying metrocards - something decidedly un-punk. As I passed one by the turnstile I commented "Shouldn't you be hopping the turnstile? Buying metrocards seems very un-punk!" The guy looked at me briefly, then muttered an expletive and continued waiting for his paying freinds. 

So these were not, in fact, punks - but only people dressed like punks. I almost wished to see a group of people who were pursuing an active alternative to our society's values, but was dissapointed to find this not to be the case. 

I read in a book defending anti-modern thinkers of the 19th century that the greatest lie our culture has given us is that you can find freedom through self-expression. It seems capitalism is able to take any movement towards this end, whether it be hippies, punks, riot grrls, or anarchists, and package it as a consumer drive. Our system is built FOR the purpose of satisfying one's desire to express themselves, and can easily adapt itself to commodify the latest trend. 

What groups dedicated to uprooting society through self-expression really exist today? I can't think of any, much less any that seem successful. No doubt that a social movement like PUnk allows people the freedom to express themselves in ways no other generation has before - but sticking a pin through your nose will not lead to broader social changes, it will only accomplish your own personal wish. It seems that the most direct refutation of an atomizing political and economic structure is a broad, unfied body that unites as many people under one roof as possible in the name of the greater good. Yes, you could lose your traces of your own "identity" within it, but it should be able to accomplish far more for society, and ultimately yourself, then by retreating from the world in order to achieve a myopic vision of who you "truly are". 

The forces that seek to control you want you to think that you are unique and different. We'd be better off if we realize that we are all human, and all belong in the same boat.