Doesn't the term go way back? You had the anti-monarchists of the French Revolution. I heard somewhere it actually went way back BCE.
Wikipedia gives very expansive definitions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_left
I'd say it includes liberals, progressive populists, socialists, anarchists, and others. Nowadays lots of people fear the words socialist, communist, etc. Likewise some here the word liberal, for similar reasons: association with some people who did bad things. Though Chomsky often seems to direct most of his wrath at "liberals" like lock-em-up Woodrow Wilson, he wrote great essay in 1970 declaring that his "libertarian socialism" (aka anarcho-syndicalism) was the true successor to the classical liberalism of Bentham and JS Mill.
It comes down to what you think is more important. Equality and collective rights or pre-existing power and that traditions that serve it.
Sure, that's a rather expansive definition. Or did you want it just to include a couple of guys in some coffee shop.
Charles
____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ