Patrick J. Deneen, “Taking Populism Seriously”

Patrick J. Deneen is the David A. Potenziani Memorial College Chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame.  His teaching focuses on the history of political thought, and his writing deals with the growing conflict between globalist meritocratic elites and populist nationalists.  His many books include The Odyssey of Political Theory, Democratic Faith, Conserving America?  Thoughts on Present Discontents, and Why Liberalism Failed, one of the most talked-about books of political philosophy in recent years.  According to President Barack Obama, Why Liberalism Failed “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.”  Prior to Notre Dame, he taught at Princeton University and Georgetown University.  He holds a B.A. in English literature and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University.