According to Deneen, "we should rightly wonder whether America is not in the early days of its eternal life but rather approaching the end of the natural cycle of corruption and decay that limits the lifespan of all human creations.

"[1] The book argues that liberalism has exhausted itself, leading to income inequality, cultural decline, atomization, nihilism, the erosion of freedoms, and the growth of powerful, centralized bureaucracies.

"[1] The paleoconservative Paul Gottfried wrote in The Independent Review that, while he agrees with much of the criticism of liberalism, he also finds several idiosyncrasies in the book, describing it as "an anti-modernist Catholic polemic that has elicited praise and support from unexpected admirers.

"[8] Writing for the National Review, Christian Alejandro Gonzalez was critical of the book, arguing that "Deneen's critique of liberalism exhibits an undue nostalgia for the past and ingratitude for the virtues of the present."

"[11] Writing for Jacobin, Lyle Jeremy Rubin said that the book is "a bold, seasonable, and at times, welcome estimation of the liberal status quo — yet one that nonetheless suffers from the significant blind spots and prejudices of its author."

"[12] The conservative political journal American Affairs has published commentaries on the book by Polish philosopher Ryszard Legutko and Harvard University Law professor Adrian Vermeule.