Liberalism started strong. It managed to put its ideals into practice—first indirectly as others reacted to liberal aspi­rations, and then directly by building liberal democratic institutions once in power. And it produced results to show for it. Then it became the estab­lishment, embraced by most politicians, bureaucrats, and activists. Estab­lishment liberalism did not adjust to new realities. Worse, liberals lost the plot and some of liberalism’s values together with it.

Liberalism’s derailment was the result of several concurrent trends. For one, the postindustrial economy made it much harder for liberal democracy to deliver on its promises. Liberalism changed as the college-educated seg­ment of society became more dominant, and this made liberal democracies less likely to seek solutions to the postindustrial challenges that heavily afflicted the less educated. This was a sin of omission.

Liberalism started strong. It managed to put its ideals into practice—first indirectly as others reacted to liberal aspi­rations, and then directly by building liberal democratic institutions once in power. And it produced results to show for it. Then it became the estab­lishment, embraced by most politicians, bureaucrats, and activists. Estab­lishment liberalism did not adjust to new realities. Worse, liberals lost the plot and some of liberalism’s values together with it.

This article has been adapted from What Happened to Liberal Democracy? by Daron Acemoglu (Dutton, 416 pp., $32, August 2026).

Liberalism’s derailment was the result of several concurrent trends. For one, the postindustrial economy made it much harder for liberal democracy to deliver on its promises. Liberalism changed as the college-educated seg­ment of society became more dominant, and this made liberal democracies less likely to seek solutions to the postindustrial challenges that heavily afflicted the less educated. This was a sin of omission.

The sin of commission was that the postindustrial educated elite abandoned many of the key precepts of liberalism, including the commitment to self-­government, community, and shared prosperity, which were critical for liberal democracy’s past success. While both sins may have started with liberalism as a political movement, they also affected liberal democratic institutions and liberal philosophies.

Postindustrial society undermined liberalism. Automation eroded the natural pathways to shared prosperity and solidarity. Regulation drifted away from those it was meant to protect. Social engineering became more intense and turned its back on some of the foundational liberal values, building up a powerful backlash. These were all children of post-industrialism and liberalism’s sins of omission and commission.

With these sins, perhaps liberalism has run its course and we should turn to postliberal philosophies for guidance. Maybe liberal democracy is no longer the right framework for society to come together around inspiring objectives. I disagree. Liberalism is worth saving and remaking.

In my book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? I offer a new theory........

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