The+Principle+of+Legitimacy

By Noah Gabrielsen

Legitimacy, in terms of David and Goliath, has to do with authority and how people respond to the power that authority wields. John Saroff quotes Malcolm Gladwell in David and Goliath, stating:  Legitimacy is based on three things:  (1) The people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice - if they speak up, they will be heard;  (2) The law has to be predictable;  (3) The authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another (Saroff). From this, it is clear that personal input is crucial for the presence of legitimacy. Even people subject to more powerful individuals must have some power, as it is their subscription that grants authority to a more powerful individual. This leads one to believe that even individuals who appear powerless have the ability to change and shape the world around them. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy offers a view of legitimacy that is similar to Gladwell's, although the context is slightly changed. It cites, "the idea of society as a fair system of cooperation, the idea of citizens as free and equal persons, the idea of the basic structure, and the idea of political justification" as necessities for legitimacy in a political context ("Political Legitimacy"). Similarly to Gladwell's interpretation, democracy exists under the premise that all individuals have some power. As a result, even people who may be categorized as underdogs have more influence than they exhibit. Authority must cooperate with lesser individuals, or risk losing legitimacy. This power can be used as leverage for such underdogs in order to advance specific goals. As a result, Gladwell will likely expand on this idea in the book, showing how the need for legitimacy allows underdogs to thrive, despite adversity or preconceptions of the contrary.

Works Cited Saroff, John. "Malcolm Gladwell on the Principle of Legitimacy." Saroff's Place, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. 

"Political Legitimacy." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. 