Conversations on a Critique of a Group of Iranian Liberals

The publication of a note criticizing a segment of Iranian liberals and an essay in defense of social democratic policies and egalitarian liberalism by Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour led to the publication of critiques and responses, during which noteworthy points were raised about various types of liberalism, types of justice-seeking, social democracy, liberal democracy, and libertarianism. Sedanet presents a selection of the published critiques and responses in a package below.

What Led to the Critiques and Responses:

«Please Update Your Liberalism!»[1] - Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour and «The Requirements of a 'Justice'-Seeking Politics» - Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour

Critiques and Responses:

Reza Khojasteh Rahimi's critique of Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's piece: «Conjuring and Sloganeering»

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Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's response to Reza Khojasteh Rahimi's critique: «Noteworthy Points in a Critique»

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Morteza Kazemi's critical conversation with Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour: «Liberal Democracy or Social Democracy?»: Listen to the audio file on Spotify | Anchor Watch the video on YouTube | Aparat

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Morteza Kazemi's conversation with Shahram Etefagh: «Economic Liberalism as the Foundation of Political Liberalism» Listen to the audio file on Spotify | Anchor Watch the video on YouTube | Aparat

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Shahram Etefagh's critique of Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's piece: «A Wrong Address for Liberalism»

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Ali Sarzaeem's piece: «In Defense of Mr. Jalaeipour's Proposal»

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Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's note on Ali Sarzaeem's piece: «On the Margins of Ali Sarzaeem's Piece»

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Morteza Mardiha's critique of Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's piece: «At the Feet of Mulla Nasreddin's Lessons»

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Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour's response to Morteza Mardiha's critique: «Do Not Constantly Lump Together the Broad and Diverse Spectrum of Justice-Seekers»

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[1] Esteemed Iranian Liberals! Please Update Your Liberalism

Esteemed writers Mr. Morteza Mardiha, Mr. Mousa Ghaninejad, Mr. Sadegh Zibakalam, and Mr. Abbas Akhoundi! Honorable members of the Central Council of the Executives of Construction and Moderation and Development Party! Esteemed directors of the Chamber of Commerce! Most of the economic technocrats of the governments of the past thirty years! Dear Mohammad Ghoochani and the managers of the "Sazandegi," "Agahi-e No," and "Andisheh-ye Pouya" media outlets!

Greetings and respects!

You who have raised the banner of liberalism in Iran in the media and political arenas, why do you not update the liberalism you support?

You are probably familiar with the institution "Liberal International," which is the most authoritative global assembly of liberal parties and forces worldwide, first formed in 1947 after the World War. It published the Oxford Manifesto, the first global declaration of liberal principles, and paved the way for the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Over the past 73 years, this assembly has updated its manifesto seven times based on the accumulation of human experience and the lessons learned by liberal forces, yet it seems you still defend versions from decades ago.

The latest manifesto of this institution was updated and published in Andorra in 2017, and its Persian and English texts are available. If you have read this text, you will have seen that they still defend principles such as equality before the law, human rights, peace and international cooperation, democratic institutions and civil society, and freedom of trade, information, expression, and the media, but they have also added several principles and emphases, including:

1- Providing quality educational facilities for all, regardless of social or economic background (public education)

2- Providing the best access to healthcare services for all (public health)

3- Protecting the environment

4- Making growth and development inclusive (reducing all forms of inequality)

Why is there insufficient attention to these four principles in your writings, positions, and the policies you support? Why, in the name of liberalism, are you critics of increasing the share of public education and public health in the budget? Why, in the name of liberalism, have you remained critics of inequality-reducing policies? Why did Iranian governments under the influence of your discourse become architects of increasing educational inequality, health inequality, and environmental destruction?

Does not the same 2017 "Liberal International" manifesto state that: "Growing inequality in power and wealth prevents the liberal social contract from providing fair opportunities for the disadvantaged ... Many people see liberalism merely as a Western pretext for selfishness and economic irresponsibility. These trends challenge liberalism, promote anti-liberal norms and institutions, raise the fear of the world fragmenting into hostile fronts, and halt human progress. While we are aware that the market system cannot by itself guarantee a fair distribution of wealth, we will fight to provide equal access to wealth, property, infrastructure, healthcare, and education for all."?

Why don't you, like other members of this global federation of liberal parties, fight to reduce inequality and strengthen public health and public education? Are you more liberal than the "Conservative" and "Liberal Democrat" parties of Britain and the "Christian Democratic" party of Germany? Even they have incorporated support for public health, public education, and the environment into their principles and emphases. Weren't you, under the influence of the policy prescriptions of global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and UN-affiliated bodies in the 1990s, a supporter of the privatization of education and health in Iran? For years now, these same "liberal" institutions have been encouraging the strengthening of public education, public health, and environmental protection. Why don't you at least use the newer versions of their policy prescriptions?

If justice is not a "mother value in politics" or "one of the strategic goals" for you, and only "freedom" (and that mostly for the elite) is your focus, and you distance yourselves from the common principles and at least eleven tenets of today's social democracy (which is also compatible with social liberalism), why don't you at least update your liberalism based on the accumulated experience of liberal parties and forces and the policy prescriptions of liberal institutions, and protect it from the harms that threaten it? Why do you allow policies that increase all kinds of inequality and poverty to be cultivated under the banner of liberalism, and allow neoliberalism to become the mainstream of liberal forces in Iran?

Signed; a justice-seeking citizen whose inclination towards social democracy and egalitarian liberalism does not prevent him from wanting the more right-leaning liberal forces in Iran to have more up-to-date proponents: Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour

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