New Left

noun

1. (sometimes lowercase) a radical leftist political movement active especially during the 1960s and 1970s, composed largely of college students and young intellectuals whose goals included racial equality, de-escalation of the arms race, nonintervention in foreign affairs, and other major changes in the political, economic, social, and educational systems.

New Left

noun

1. a loose grouping of left-wing radicals, esp among students, that arose in many countries after 1960

New Left

1. A radical movement of the 1960s and 1970s. New Leftists opposed the military-industrial complex and involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War ; they urged more public attention to conditions of black people and the poor. New Leftists were less theoretical than communists and generally did not admire the Soviet Union . But many of them were interested in Maoism , and they spoke strongly for “participatory democracy.” ( See sit-ins .)

Other Words From

• New Leftist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of New Left¹

First recorded in 1960; phrase apparently introduced by U.S. sociologist C. Wright Mills (1916–62)

Example Sentences

Michael Kazin is a historian who has written a lot about the New Left.

From The Daily Beast

But Brooke was out of step with the New Left and its notion of radical chic.

From The Daily Beast

Substantively, as opposed to stylistically, there was no New Left.

From The Daily Beast

The idea that liberalism was a disguised form of fascism became an article of faith for many in the New Left.

From The Daily Beast

"The Rise of the New New Left" by Peter Beinart, The Daily Beast.

From The Daily Beast

A straight plunge by the new left half gained a yard through Gallup.

From Project Gutenberg

Bridgwater was the right of this second line as it had been the left of the first; the new left was at Ilchester.

From Project Gutenberg