Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)

A Critical Analysis on the Book “Why Liberalism Failed?”

Document Type : Research

Author

Jalil Karimi

Associate Professor of Sociology, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran,

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2026.52557.2948
Abstract
This article provides a critical review of Patrick Deneen's book, “Why Liberalism Failed?”, reconstructing its central argument: that the current crises of liberalism stem not from a deviation from its founding principles, but from the historical and internal fulfillment of this intellectual tradition. Deneen views liberalism not merely as a political regime or a set of policies, but as a comprehensive philosophy regarding humanity, freedom, politics, economics, culture, and education. According to him, modern liberalism's emphasis on radical individualism, self-foundation, and absolute liberation from traditional and social constraints has led to the weakening of mediating institutions, the erosion of shared culture, the expansion of social inequality, the dominance of technology, and a crisis of democratic legitimacy. In addition to systematically outlining the book's main themes—ranging from the concept of "counter-culture" and the critique of technocracy and liberal education to the analysis of neoliberalism and liberal democracy—this article critically evaluates its theoretical and methodological shortcomings, including conceptual ambiguity in the definition of liberalism and the predominance of interpretative readings over empirical and comparative evidence. In the concluding section, the relevance of this critique to Iranian society is examined, demonstrating that although liberalism in its classical sense has not been established in Iran, Deneen's internal critique can serve as an important analytical framework for understanding contemporary crises in governance, technocracy, education, and political economy in Iran.

Keywords

Democracy
Individualism
Liberalism
Technocracy
Post-liberalism
Subjects
Abazari, Yousef (2020). Market Fundamentalism. Tehran: University of Tehran Press.
Baradaran, Hormoz (2020). "Newsweek: Liberalism Has Failed." IRNA News Agency. July 10. https://irna.ir/xjyKf7
Deneen, Patrick. J., (2018) Why Liberalism Failed? Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
Harvey, David (2023). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Translated by Mahmoud Abdollahzadeh. Tehran: Akhtaran
Havel, Vaclav. (1992) “The Power of the Powerless.” In open Letters: selected writings, 1965–1990. New York: Vintage.
MacDougald, Park. (2018) ‘Has the Operating System for the Western World Crashed?’, New York Magazine, 27 February..
Mises, Ludwig von (2023). Liberalism. Translated by Mehdi Tadini. Tehran: Parsa Books.
Postman, Neil. (1993) Technopoly: The surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Vintage.
Vermeule, Adrian. )2019( "Integration from Within." First Things, February.
CompactMagazine.(2022) "ThePostLiberalMoment. https://compactmag.com/article.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. (1969) Democracy in America, trans. George Lawrence. New York: Harper and Row.
zakaria, Fareed. (2007) The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. New York: Norton.
Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)
Volume 26, Issue 1 - Serial Number 123
Spring 2026
Spring 2026
Pages 121-145

  • Receive Date 22 December 2025
  • Revise Date 17 April 2026
  • Accept Date 22 April 2026

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