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Patrick Deneen
Patrick J. Deneen (born 1964) is an American political theorist and author, known for his critical examination of liberalism and its effect on contemporary society. He is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, where his work emphasizes the interrelations of political philosophy, culture, and religion.
Deneen's most notable book, Why Liberalism Failed, argues that the principles of liberalism have caused societal fragmentation and the erosion of communal bonds. His scholarship often explores the philosophical underpinnings of modern political thought and advocates for more traditional and localized forms of governance. His 2023 book, Regime Change: Towards a Postliberal Future, extends his critique of liberalism and develops a broader view of a postliberal politics.
Patrick J. Deneen was born on July 21, 1964, the son of an insurance executive. He grew up in a Catholic household in Windsor, Connecticut. Deneen is of Irish ancestry. Deneen was educated at Rutgers University, earning a BA in English literature in 1986. He began his doctoral work in political science at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought, studying there for one year before returning to Rutgers in 1995. His dissertation, "The Odyssey of Political Theory", was awarded the 1995 American Political Science Association Leo Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy.
From 1995 to 1997, Deneen was a speechwriter and special advisor to Joseph Duffey, the director of the United States Information Agency, appointed by President Clinton.
He taught at Princeton University from 1997 to 2005 as an assistant professor. Deneen joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 2005 and was the Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Associate Professor of Government until 2012. Deneen was founding director of the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy housed in the Government Department at Georgetown University from 2006 to 2012. The Tocqueville Forum was founded in 2006 "to promote civic knowledge and promote inquiry".
He joined the faculty at Notre Dame in 2012, and was promoted to full professor in 2018.
Deneen is a scholar of democracy, liberalism, classical and modern political thought, and American political thought. He has been considered as being among prominent conservative intellectuals, particularly for his argument that liberalism—in both its modern and Enlightenment expressions—has failed America.
He is the author of five monographs, co-editor of three volumes, and author of numerous academic articles. He has written for publications such as First Things, The American Conservative, The New Atlantis, and Front Porch Republic. Deneen's 2018 book Why Liberalism Failed was recommended by former President Barack Obama as part of his summer reading list. Obama wrote that "I found [Why Liberalism Failed] thought-provoking. I don’t agree with most of the author’s conclusions, but the book offers cogent insights into the loss of meaning and community that many in the West feel, issues that liberal democracies ignore at their own peril." Deneen's 2023 book Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future, discusses how liberalism can be replaced with a form of post-liberal conservatism that strives for the "common good".
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Patrick Deneen
Patrick J. Deneen (born 1964) is an American political theorist and author, known for his critical examination of liberalism and its effect on contemporary society. He is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, where his work emphasizes the interrelations of political philosophy, culture, and religion.
Deneen's most notable book, Why Liberalism Failed, argues that the principles of liberalism have caused societal fragmentation and the erosion of communal bonds. His scholarship often explores the philosophical underpinnings of modern political thought and advocates for more traditional and localized forms of governance. His 2023 book, Regime Change: Towards a Postliberal Future, extends his critique of liberalism and develops a broader view of a postliberal politics.
Patrick J. Deneen was born on July 21, 1964, the son of an insurance executive. He grew up in a Catholic household in Windsor, Connecticut. Deneen is of Irish ancestry. Deneen was educated at Rutgers University, earning a BA in English literature in 1986. He began his doctoral work in political science at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought, studying there for one year before returning to Rutgers in 1995. His dissertation, "The Odyssey of Political Theory", was awarded the 1995 American Political Science Association Leo Strauss Award for Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy.
From 1995 to 1997, Deneen was a speechwriter and special advisor to Joseph Duffey, the director of the United States Information Agency, appointed by President Clinton.
He taught at Princeton University from 1997 to 2005 as an assistant professor. Deneen joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 2005 and was the Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Associate Professor of Government until 2012. Deneen was founding director of the Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy housed in the Government Department at Georgetown University from 2006 to 2012. The Tocqueville Forum was founded in 2006 "to promote civic knowledge and promote inquiry".
He joined the faculty at Notre Dame in 2012, and was promoted to full professor in 2018.
Deneen is a scholar of democracy, liberalism, classical and modern political thought, and American political thought. He has been considered as being among prominent conservative intellectuals, particularly for his argument that liberalism—in both its modern and Enlightenment expressions—has failed America.
He is the author of five monographs, co-editor of three volumes, and author of numerous academic articles. He has written for publications such as First Things, The American Conservative, The New Atlantis, and Front Porch Republic. Deneen's 2018 book Why Liberalism Failed was recommended by former President Barack Obama as part of his summer reading list. Obama wrote that "I found [Why Liberalism Failed] thought-provoking. I don’t agree with most of the author’s conclusions, but the book offers cogent insights into the loss of meaning and community that many in the West feel, issues that liberal democracies ignore at their own peril." Deneen's 2023 book Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future, discusses how liberalism can be replaced with a form of post-liberal conservatism that strives for the "common good".
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