NISTideals. So, MARXISM, SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, and Ameri-
can liberal Democrats are Left to varying degrees. The
Left politically tends to be PROGRESSIVE (for social
change), in favor of central government control or reg-
ulation of the economy (especially to benefit the poor
and working class), and sometimes to champion the
cause of the downtrodden or “oppressed” people and
minorities (blacks, women, Native Americans, homo-
sexuals, gays, lesbians, transsexuals, the disabled, the
poor of the developing world). Left-wing politics
began in the United States with the Progressive era in
the early 1900s, deepened with the NEW DEALDemoc-
ratic Party under President Franklin ROOSEVELTin the
1930s, and continued under the liberal Democratic
governments of John KENNEDY, Lyndon Johnson, and
Bill Clinton. Often, Leftist policies embrace loosening
TRADITIONAL moral social practices (on ABORTION,
divorce law, sexual roles, etc.). Strongly favoring civil
rights, Left politics usually also oppose military spend-
ing and warfare. The A.C.L.U. (American Civil Liber-
ties Union) is a premier Leftist political organization.
Left theory is often antibusiness and pro-ENVIRONMEN-
TALISMand pro-FEMINIST, so Left is a broad ideological
category that includes a variety of movements and
stances. Generally, however, a Leftist is in favor of
using the state to regulate the economy and to provide
extensive social programs (in education, medicine,
housing, mass transportation, etc.). It is contrasted
with the RIGHT, or CONSERVATIVE MODERN ideology,
which advocates less central state regulation over the
economy, more private individual FREEDOM, and more
traditional moral values. James Davison HUNTER’s book
Culture Warsdescribes the Left and Right positions in
terms of cultural progressives and orthodox. His analy-
sis illuminates the ethical bases of these political
stances and shows why the Left tends to be more secu-
lar and hostile to religion while the Right is more
favorably inclined to traditional religious standards. A
contemporary critical term for the Left is p.c.(POLITI-
CALLY CORRECT).
Although Leftist ideology enjoyed widespread pop-
ular acceptance and political dominance in the West
during most of the 20th century, it began to be identi-
fied with high government spending, public debt, eco-
nomic inflation, and social breakdown by the 1970s
and has been largely superseded by MODERATEpolicies
and leaders since the 1980s. With the collapse of
Soviet COMMUNISM, extreme Leftist politics and eco-
nomics have been largely discredited as social solu-
tions. For the socioreligious expression of the left, see
LIBERATION THEOLOGY.Further Reading
Long, P. The New Left.Boston: P. Sargent, 1969.legitimacy/legitimate
The concept of whether a STATE, ruler, system, or move-
ment is valid, right, just—legitimate (as opposed to
illegitimate—improper, unjust, arbitrary, or invalid).
Political legitimacy is a concern throughout the history
of political theory, but it receives special importance in
the MODERN, LIBERAL SOCIAL-CONTRACT theories of
Thomas HOBBES, John LOCKE, and Jean-Jacques
ROUSSEAU. The central questions of political legitimacy
are: What characteristics make an institution or gov-
ernment justly exercise POWERand AUTHORITYover oth-
ers? Who determines if a state is legitimate or
illegitimate? What are the remedies if a person or gov-
ernment ceases to be legitimate?
CLASSICALpolitical philosophy places political legiti-
macy in the character of those who rule and in the
purpose of the state. ARISTOTLE considers the
purpose of the state to be to serve the common good,
so several regimes can be legitimate (MONARCHY—the
ruler of one for the common good; ARISTOCRACY—the
rule of a few for the common good; polity—the rule of
the many for the common good). An illegitimate state
is one where those in power govern for their own self-
ish INTERESTS. So, Aristotelian legitimacy resides in the
character of the rulers and in the nature of their gover-
nance; it is determined by the excellent moral person,
not the subjects who are ruled over. Similarly, PLATO’s
Republicdetails an ideal polis ruled by the wise and
good PHILOSOPHER-KING, whose knowledge and VIRTUE
establish a harmonious society of JUSTICE. All other
regimes (military rule; government by the wealthy;
democracy; tyranny) are increasingly illegitimate and
unjust. In CHRISTIANpolitical thought (St. AUGUSTINE,
St. Thomas AQUINAS), the only perfect and fully legiti-
mate regime is the City of God, or kingdom of heaven,
ruled by Christ; all earthly governments are character-
ized by worldly power and sin, greed, dominance, and
violence. But some states are more just than others and
therefore are more legitimate. A regime led by virtu-
ous, godly men, advised by the church, and viewing
their authority in stewardship as a gift from the Lord
will tend to be more just and deserving of the peoples’180 legitimacy/legitimate