"Even today, economic liberalization is widely supposed to replace the tyranny of the state with the freedom of the individual and, therefore, the uniformity of politics from above with the liveliness and colour of politics from below." "This book analyses developments in the Middle East, arriving at far less reassuring conclusions: that economic liberalization has failed to entail the continuous growth and widespread welfare gains expected by its proponents; and that by privileging privatization and crony capitalism over competitive but regulated markets and political reform, it has also failed to decentralize and democratize the allocation of resources, be they material or symbolic, to enable individuals to participate meaningfully in the production of social norms."--Jacket.