Liberal Intellectuals in Post-Revolutionary Iran

The intellectual history of contemporary Iran has been dominated by the two paradigms of Islamism and Marxism. As such, Iranian liberal intellectuals have always been presented as the enemies of the working class or as collaborators with foreign imperialism. However, Iranian liberal intellectuals have devoted their lifes’ work to understanding and promoting concepts like negative liberty and democracy. The rise of the Iranian Left and the victory of revolutionary Islam in 1979 were considered as important challenges to the evolution of liberal thought in Iranian society. In this research, special attention has been given to two generations of Iranian liberal intellectuals and their thoughts on market economy, politics, and society after the Revolution of 1979.