In rural Iran, the expansion of health and education led to a clear reduction in poverty: The 1970s poverty rate of 25% dropped to less than 10% in 2014. In short, the revolution sought to eliminate the rural-urban divide.
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The shift from the shah’s pro-urban, elite-centered policies to a pro-rural and pro-poor (populist) approach under the Islamic Republic included expanding infrastructure and basic services-such as electricity and clean water-from cities to the countryside. Whether these successes have been a result of post-revolutionary policies, societal pressures, or the foundations laid by the shah remains hotly debated. Iran has indeed experienced progress over the last 40 years. More nuance and contextualization is needed. While some claim that under the Islamist regime remarkable progress has been made, others depict an entire country mired in misery. In the following four decades, intense controversy has erupted over the Islamic Republic’s socio-economic performance.
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Iran’s paradoxical quest for social justiceįramed in a Marxist–Islamist mindset, the revolution was made on behalf of the mostazafin-the downtrodden-who were left behind by the monarchy’s uneven development model. The 1979 Iranian revolution promised three goals: social justice, freedom and democracy, and independence from great power tutelage. But how is it that even a formerly enthusiastic supporter of the Islamic Revolution has delivered such a devastating verdict? To understand this radical shift and the frustration behind it, we must revisit the promises that the revolution made four decades ago.