Legitimacy

"John LOLcke," a wig-wearing 17th-century neckbeard who thought that peasants actually had opinions worth listening to. He came up with the crackpot idea of "consent of the governed," which basically means "the government shouldn't treat you like trash without asking first." This totally wild concept laid the groundwork for modern democracy, which is now ignored by most politicians anyway.

Legitimacy (n.): The mystical fairy dust that governments sprinkle over themselves to convince the peasants that their taxation, oppression, and general nonsense is somehow justified. Legitimacy is basically when the biggest gang in a region convinces everyone that they’re the good guys simply because they have fancier titles, shinier suits, and occasionally hold rigged popularity contests (also known as elections) to make the whole thing look official.

Political Legitimacy

In politics, legitimacy is when a bunch of people with bad haircuts and ties decide they have the divine right to tell you what to do because they read a fancy piece of paper out loud in a big room. In ancient China, this was called the Mandate of Heaven, which meant that as long as the emperor wasn’t struck by lightning or overthrown by a peasant revolt, he was obviously appointed by the gods. Modern legitimacy is more complicated, mostly involving corrupt lobbyists, media mouthpieces, and the occasional coup d’état disguised as a democratic transition.

Moral Legitimacy

When people voluntarily accept the societal LARP that those in charge actually have a moral right to boss them around. Basically, if enough people agree that a rich guy in a suit is allowed to ruin their lives through "legal channels", it somehow makes it okay. Philosophers like John Locke argued that government only has legitimacy if the people consent—an idea that’s about as realistic as a unicorn running for office. Meanwhile, thinkers like Robert A. Dahl described legitimacy as a metaphorical reservoir, which makes sense considering how most modern governments are drowning in BS.

TL;DR

Legitimacy is the pretend hall pass governments wave around to avoid getting wedgied by the mob. As long as people buy into the cosplay of authority, the whole charade continues. If they stop believing, it’s only a matter of time before the pitchforks and torches come out.

Types

Tradition, charisma, and rational-legality

Legitimacy is a fancy word for when people don't throw a tantrum over who's in charge. It basically means that some schmuck or system is accepted as “right and proper” by the public, or at least tolerated because rebelling takes too much effort. In political science, legitimacy is the magic trick that makes authority look like consent instead of coercion. German edgelord sociologist Max Weber coined three types of legitimacy in his essay "Politics as Vocation":

• Traditional legitimacy – Basically, "we've always done it this way, so why stop?" This is when authority leeches off nostalgia and people's fear of change. Think of monarchies, where inbred royals still get to boss people around because muh tradition. Tribalism also falls under this category, where people pretend that old customs and elder wisdom somehow translate to effective governance.

• Charismatic legitimacy – This is when some smooth-talking narcissist with a god complex convinces people they’re the second coming of [insert deity]. It relies on the leader’s ✨epic vibes✨ rather than pesky things like competence or laws. The moment the leader croaks, the whole regime tends to fall apart unless they have a worthy successor. See: every cult leader ever.

• Rational-legal legitimacy – This is the bureaucratic snooze-fest type of legitimacy. It relies on rules, procedures, and the illusion of fairness. People obey because they trust the system, not because they care about who’s running it. It’s the foundation of modern democracy, where we pretend that voting makes a difference. It’s also the wet dream of pencil-pushers and policy nerds.

More recent scholarship, written by academics trying to justify their tenure, has concocted even more types of legitimacy to sound sophisticated. These include:

• Empirical legitimacy vs. normative legitimacy – Fancy terms for "what actually happens" vs. "what should happen" in politics. The former is whether people actually accept the regime, while the latter is whether the regime deserves to be accepted.
• Instrumental vs. substantive legitimacy – Instrumental means "this regime gives me free stuff, so I tolerate it," while substantive is "I genuinely believe this system is good" (rarely happens).
• Popular legitimacy – When the mob approves of the regime. See: bread and circuses.
• Regulative legitimacy – When the system appears legitimate just because it enforces rules, even if the rules are garbage.
• Procedural legitimacy – When people buy into the system because it follows the rules of the game, even if the game is rigged.

Dignity, but Edgy

In the spicy and glorious hellscape that is conflict zones, where multiple warlords, tinpot dictators, and self-proclaimed "freedom fighters" play tug-of-war with authority, legitimacy is basically a social experiment. Weigand’s galaxy-brain theory of interactive dignity claims that legitimacy comes from not being a complete asshat when you interact with the peasants. Basically, if your local warlord gives you the occasional polite nod instead of torching your village, you might be more inclined to support him. People just want basic human dignity and not to be treated like disposable meat puppets. In short, if your overlord treats you like a cash cow instead of a cockroach, they score bonus legitimacy points. If they fail at this very basic humanity simulator, people will gladly throw their lot in with some sketchy dudes with homemade flags.

Flavors of Legitimacy

File:Horus as falcon.svg

Egyptian holy bird king Horus giving side-eye to plebs

Divine Fan Fiction

Template:Further In the OG theocracies, legitimacy was just divine LARPing.

In ancient Egypt (c. 3150 BC), Pharaohs were considered literal gods, with the theological canon stating they were basically the Egyptian version of a Superman x Jesus crossover, being the spawn of Osiris and the bird-headed god Horus. This made them un-punchable by peasants.

Democracy LARP

A rare photo of people pretending that their vote matters

In allegedly "civilized" societies, legitimacy comes from the high-IQ concept of voting. The whole "power to the people" thing hinges on the assumption that the system isn't rigged by things like gerrymandering, which is basically electoral necromancy where politicians resurrect the dead spirit of democracy and make it dance for them. Then there's the ancient black magic ritual known as the United States Electoral College, where you can win the throne despite having fewer votes, thanks to a game of political 4D chess.

Also, since nothing screams "legitimacy" like voter suppression, there was the Shelby County v. Holder ruling in 2013, which made it easier to block certain demographics from voting. In short, democracy is a LARP with occasionally moving goalposts.

Other methods of legitimacy include financial transparency, which basically means "pretending you're honest while moving money through a legally sketchy pipeline," and "stake-holder accountability," which is corporate speak for "blaming interns when things go sideways."

The Center for Public Impact, a think tank for people who love spreadsheets, attempted to figure out what makes governments legit by asking regular citizens, scholars, and bureaucrats, which is like asking Twitter to solve world hunger.