Patrick J. Deneen Books
Patrick J. Deneen is an American political theorist and professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
Known for: Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future, Why Liberalism Failed
Books by Patrick J. Deneen
Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future
In this provocative work, political theorist Patrick J. Deneen argues that liberalism has reached its end as a governing philosophy. He contends that the liberal order, built on individual autonomy an...
Why Liberalism Failed
In this provocative work, political theorist Patrick J. Deneen argues that liberalism—the dominant political philosophy of the modern West—has failed because it has succeeded. By emphasizing individua...
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The Liberal Promise and Its Failure
Liberalism arose as a remarkable promise—the belief that human beings, freed from the constraints of tradition and authority, could govern themselves through reason and contract. Its two central ideals, freedom and equality, inspired revolutions and built modern societies. Yet these very principles ...
From Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future
The Rise of the Managerial Elite
One of the most visible consequences of liberalism’s decay is the emergence of a new ruling class—the managerial elite. This class governs not through democratic accountability but through claims of expertise. Under liberalism’s guise of neutrality, these elites administer everything: policy, econom...
From Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future
Historical Origins
Liberalism did not emerge fully formed. It arose from the intellectual ferment of early modern Europe, a time when old hierarchies and certainties were collapsing under the weight of scientific discovery, religious upheaval, and new economic realities. Thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Je...
From Why Liberalism Failed
The Paradox of Liberal Freedom
One of liberalism’s most seductive promises is the ideal of autonomy—the belief that we can be self-governing and free from external limitations. Yet the pursuit of autonomy has yielded its opposite: a deep dependence on systems and institutions that mediate nearly every aspect of our existence. In...
From Why Liberalism Failed
About Patrick J. Deneen
Patrick J. Deneen is an American political theorist and professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. His scholarship focuses on political philosophy, classical thought, and critiques of modern liberalism. He is also the author of the influential book 'Why Liberalism Failed'.
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Patrick J. Deneen is an American political theorist and professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
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