What Legitimacy Looks Like
On the State, the Streets, and the Search for Moral Authority.
For all the talk of crisis, we rarely ask: crisis of what?
The past week has laid bare something deeper than polarization or political dysfunction. From the immigration raids in Los Angeles to the pundit class doubling down on “pragmatic centrism,” what we are witnessing is a crisis of legitimacy—of a state that cannot fulfill its basic responsibilities, of leaders who no longer inspire trust, and of institutions too broken down to act in the public’s interest. I wrote two stories this week in different outlets that speak to these themes and that I’d like to share with you.
In The Lever, I wrote about how California’s sanctuary promises are collapsing under the weight of Trump’s latest deportation surge. The state made a good-faith effort to shield immigrants through legislation like SB 54, but over the years, it also dismantled the legal and social infrastructure that would’ve made those promises real. Now, with ICE conducting military-style raids, leaders like Gavin Newsom are responding with speeches and press hits instead of material protections. The emergency response is offloaded to community organizers and civil society.
In a profile of Washington state Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Compact Magazine, I write about how her plainspoken focus on trade work, local ownership, and material independence reveals a deeper political vision than most give her credit for. Her stance on economic sovereignty and community repair may actually be more radical than much of the progressive left—if anyone’s willing to look past the ideological filters and see what she’s really offering.
I explored how the political center—which brands itself as the reasonable opposition to Trump—has no answers for the conditions that brought him to power. These centrist elites obsess over optics, moderate vibes, and civility narratives, but they have no language for the despair, dispossession, and moral exhaustion that define daily life for millions. They treat democracy as a brand to be managed rather than a structure to be rebuilt. Their legitimacy is rooted in symbolism, not service.
This is why legitimacy matters—not in some abstract sense, but in the most tangible one. Do people believe the government can or will protect them? Do they see evidence of care, competence, or empathy in how the state responds to crisis? Or have they learned, over time, that they’re largely on their own?
When people protest in the streets, it’s not just about policy. It’s about the failure of the state to act in a way that feels morally serious and materially real. Trump exploits that vacuum by offering cruelty dressed as clarity. Democrats, trapped in their own contradictions, are still trying to manage the fallout with messaging and moral appeals.
Legitimacy doesn’t come from warnings about fascism or appeals to civic virtue. It comes from a politics that delivers—housing, safety, wages, dignity. And until that groundwork is rebuilt, statements will ring hollow, no matter how urgent or sincere they sound.
The protests are a reminder: people aren’t apathetic. They’re waiting for a government that remembers how to act. And they’re right to be running out of patience.
As always, thank you for reading. I’ll be sending out my weekend reading and recommendations for paid subscribers on Saturday—featuring a few books, essays, and interviews that speak to the deeper questions behind this legitimacy crisis. If you’d like to receive it, you can upgrade your subscription below.
See you then.
—Evelyn
Let’s go!! I love that you read the performative nature of the political scene in America for its filth. Keep up the good work. 😄👍🏽