And these cases remain in that exalted position only as long as their political appeal and social legitimacy can be sustained.

FORBES: Contingency Fees, Self-Regulation Make Lawyering Expensive For Us

CSR, a respect for markets and consumers would provide social legitimacy.

ECONOMIST: Company goods

By grounding capitalism and economic liberties in the psychic needs of individuals as opposed to, say, GDP growth, Rand avoided the collectivist trap under which individual rights are dependent for their legitimacy on serving some broader social purpose.

FORBES: Magazine Article

One cannot hope to put an end to gender-based violence without understanding the ideological and social construction which is the backdrop to this violence, which provides legitimacy, bolstered by patriarchal values which are taken to be consubstantial to our existence, our culture.

UNESCO: Social and Human Sciences

If this becomes a trend, it might signal that al-Nusra aspires to be more like Hezbollah or Hamas, organizations that defy neat categorization based on the range of social, political and military activities they engage in and the resultant legitimacy they have in the eyes of their constituencies.

CNN: Terrorist group fills power vacuum among Syria rebels

Though the international media may prefer the stirring issues of freedom and civil rights, Mr Tung's legitimacy at home rests as much on his actions in these social areas.

ECONOMIST: Next steps in Hong Kong

Like in 1937, when the Supreme Court declared that the Social Security tax was constitutional, the court's ruling on health care gave Obama's program a legitimacy that undercut some of the thunder coming from the right.

CNN: Health care will be an Obama legacy