New Left

American  

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.

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New Left British  

noun

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

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New Left Cultural  

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.)

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Other Word Forms

• New Leftist noun

Etymology

Origin of New Left

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

Example Sentences

The program also saw federal law enforcement target anti-war protesters, civil rights activists, feminist groups, New Left organizations and even some rightist organizations, like the Ku Klux Klan.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025

His Civic Coalition will look to form a government with the centre-right Third Way, which saw a surge in support with around 14.4% of the vote, and the New Left on around 8.5%.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2023

"The fact that support for Confederation falls and New Left and Third Way maintain and even slightly increase their support, has decisive significance," Jaroslaw Flis, a sociologist with the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, told Rzeczpospolita.

From Reuters • Sep. 11, 2023

Back in 1979, the historian and critic Christopher Lasch wrote that the New Left had retreated from politics and turned inward, focusing on personal psychological well-being instead of external collective struggles.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2022

The key term for many New Left theorists, as well as rank-and-file members of the youth culture of the 1960s and 1970s, was “liberation” – sexual, social, and cultural.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020