Peiman Salehi – Political Analyst & Writer

Author: Peiman Salehi*
*Originally published on: Geopolitika.Ru

Liberalism emerged as a reaction to the oppressive structures of feudalism and absolute monarchy, promising a world where individuals could exercise their freedoms, own property without fear, and live under governments that respected their fundamental rights. Thinkers like John Locke envisioned a society where “life, liberty, and property” were sacred principles, while John Stuart Mill argued that individual happiness and autonomy should be the core of governance. Liberalism, in its classical form, positioned itself as the ideological alternative to authoritarianism, and later, as the ultimate response to Marxism during the Cold War.

Yet, despite its initial promise, the trajectory of liberal states today starkly contradicts the very principles they claim to uphold. In practice, modern liberalism has become a mechanism not for ensuring freedom, but for justifying global inequalities, economic domination, and military interventions that strip entire nations of their sovereignty.

Philosopher Antonio Gramsci once wrote, “Hegemony is maintained not only through force but through the shaping of ideology itself.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the foreign policies of Western liberal democracies, which continue to expand their influence under the guise of spreading “freedom” while ensuring the economic and political subjugation of the Global South.

Liberalism and the Destruction of Sovereignty

The West’s foreign policy has consistently betrayed the foundational liberal idea of self-determination. Locke argued that no authority should govern without the consent of the governed. However, from the Cold War to the present, the United States and its allies have systematically undermined democratically elected governments that oppose Western economic interests.

One need only look at the history of Latin America, where coups in Chile (1973), Argentina (1976), and Brazil (1964) were directly or indirectly supported by liberal states in the name of “defending democracy.” Henry Kissinger, the architect of many such interventions, infamously remarked, “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people.” This statement alone encapsulates the fundamental hypocrisy of Western liberalism—freedom is only tolerated when it aligns with the interests of those in power.

In the contemporary world, we see the same contradictions in Ukraine, where the West claims to defend sovereignty while fueling a war that primarily serves the geopolitical ambitions of NATO rather than the well-being of Ukrainians. Meanwhile, sanctions against countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran are imposed in the name of human rights, while Western allies such as Saudi Arabia remain immune from scrutiny despite their blatant suppression of freedoms.

The Myth of Economic Freedom and Property Rights

If there is one area where liberalism’s contradictions are most glaring, it is in the economy. Adam Smith’s vision of a free-market system was based on the premise that competition would ultimately lead to prosperity for all. Yet, modern neoliberalism has instead concentrated wealth in the hands of a few, turning entire nations into economic colonies of multinational corporations.

The concept of private property, once defended as the foundation of individual freedom, has become a tool for corporate imperialism. John Locke’s idea that “the fruits of one’s labor belong to oneself” is meaningless in a world where resources in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are extracted by Western corporations while local populations live in poverty. The irony is undeniable—those who preach the sanctity of private ownership have systematically denied it to the world’s most vulnerable.

The ongoing economic exploitation of the Global South is not an accident—it is a deliberate feature of modern liberal capitalism. Philosopher Noam Chomsky has long argued that “what is called ‘liberalization’ simply means ensuring that wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few.” Trade agreements, loan conditions imposed by the IMF, and the manipulation of global supply chains ensure that the so-called “developing world” remains dependent on Western financial institutions, despite decades of supposed economic liberalization.

Freedom: An Illusion in a World of Surveillance and Control

The West’s claim to defend individual freedoms is equally hollow when examined closely. John Stuart Mill, the great advocate of liberty, warned that “the worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.” Yet, modern liberal states have turned surveillance into an everyday reality, criminalizing dissent while justifying mass surveillance in the name of security.

From the U.S. Patriot Act to Europe’s increasingly strict digital monitoring laws, governments that once championed human rights now systematically violate privacy in ways that authoritarian regimes could only dream of. Meanwhile, whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, who have exposed these contradictions, are treated as enemies rather than defenders of liberty.

At the same time, the rise of corporate control over public discourse—through social media censorship, data manipulation, and monopolization of information—raises serious questions about whether political freedom is anything more than an illusion. As philosopher Slavoj Žižek argues, “Today’s freedom is the freedom to choose between options designed for you.” If an individual’s choices are shaped entirely by corporate algorithms and state propaganda, can we truly call them free?

Conclusion: Can Liberalism Be Redeemed?

The contradictions of modern liberalism have reached a breaking point. What was once a philosophy of freedom has become a tool for subjugation. The liberal world order, which emerged victorious from the Cold War, is now a system that perpetuates global inequalities, suppresses dissent, and prioritizes corporate interests over human dignity.

Yet, the failure of liberalism does not mean that its original ideals were wrong. Perhaps the true betrayal lies not in liberal philosophy itself, but in its implementation by states that have never truly adhered to its principles. The question remains: will liberal societies reform themselves before they collapse under the weight of their contradictions, or will they continue to weaponize freedom while denying it to the very people they claim to protect?

As history has shown, no ideology—no matter how powerful—can sustain itself indefinitely when its foundations are built on hypocrisy.