Javad Tabatabai, Towards Liberalism or Nationalism? 1; Author: Shahram Etefagh

Javad Tabatabai, Towards Liberalism or Nationalism? 1

Author: Shahram Etefagh – Aban 1400 / Publisher: Sedanet Cultural Institute

Introduction

Following my research activities[1] on "the public good," I once again turned to the valuable works of Professor Tabatabai, so that I might once more be granted a day's portion of this sea[2] and, as I have always and greatly learned from him, learn yet again from this wise master.

Approaching Tabatabai's works is a matter of choice and prudence, but tearing oneself away from that wisdom and eloquence is exceedingly difficult and a matter of fate. Thus it was that I lingered beyond the prescribed limit and, out of necessity[3], organized a portion of my notes into what follows and published it as a draft.

In this writing, I intend, from the perspective of a reader of Tabatabai's works who is in the process of learning that thought and those theories, to write a critique of his views and to claim that, at the present moment, the tendency of Professor Javad Tabatabai's theoretical apparatus towards nationalism is probably far greater than its tendency towards classical liberalism[4].

For this reason, I consider further exploration in this field essential for students and researchers of both the realm of liberalism and the thought of Tabatabai.

I have no doubt that Professor Tabatabai, like "Plato among the ancients and Machiavelli among the moderns"[5], possesses disciplined thought. At the same time, it is possible that Tabatabai's theoretical positions at the starting point gradually changed in relation to his claims at the endpoint, and we are witnessing a gradual evolution from his earliest works to his recent work titled "Nation, State, Rule of Law." Although I do not dismiss the possibility—and I know of scattered indications—that perhaps Tabatabai's thought was of this same tenor from the very beginning.

Here, I have endeavored, from time to time, by drawing upon a comparative approach[6], to show the points of commonality and distinction between Tabatabai's views and the three approaches of liberalism, Marxism, and nationalism, in order to explain my claim through this comparison.

It is likely that the responses I will receive from learned thinkers and experts will reveal my errors and show me the correct path. On the other hand, Tabatabai himself has already said, in welcoming the critique of his audience: "Any dispute, relying on new materials and scientific method, concerning my theory, can be a proof of its correctness, just as I, over the past four decades, have been able, by utilizing the objections that have been raised, to resolve some objections and make the core of the theory more precise."[7]

[1] In the field of environmental political economy

[2] If you pour the sea into a jug

How much will it hold? A single day's portion – Rumi

[3] In the book-reading sessions we have with friends—and we were studying Ludwig von Mises's book Liberalism—in response to a question from one of the participants in that session about comparing the views of Tabatabai and Mises on nations and their relations, I compared and examined the theoretical criteria of the five schools of Neo-Durkheimianism, Marxism, nationalism, feminism, and liberalism, and at the request of friends, it was decided that the discussion about Tabatabai's thought should be pursued outside the Mises book study sessions and in another format. Therefore, my motivation for the early publication of these notes was to follow up on that unfinished discussion. To follow those book-reading sessions, see: "A Review of Mises's Book 'Liberalism' – Session (4) – Shahram Etefagh"

[4] Throughout this text, what I mean by liberalism is classical liberalism within the bounds of the definitions of Mises, Hayek, and their like. Not that kind of leftist liberalism which resembles socialism and is represented by certain social democratic parties.

[5] (Tabatabai, 1396 a, 18)

[6] comparative approach

[7] (Tabatabai, 1398 a, 292)

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