The Open Society And Its Enemies

The Open Society and Its Enemies: A Deep Dive into Karl Popper's Enduring Critique

Are you intrigued by the concept of an open society, a system that thrives on freedom, tolerance, and critical thinking? Do you wonder about the forces that consistently threaten this ideal? This in-depth exploration delves into Karl Popper's seminal work, "The Open Society and Its Enemies," examining the historical and philosophical underpinnings of both the open society and the ideologies that seek to undermine it. We'll unpack the core tenets of an open society, identify its recurring enemies, and analyze their strategies for dismantling it. This isn't just an academic exercise; understanding these dynamics is crucial for navigating the complex political landscape of the 21st century.

What is an Open Society?

Popper's conception of an open society is fundamentally about the free exchange of ideas and the absence of enforced dogma. It's a society that prioritizes:

Individual liberty: Individuals have the freedom to pursue their own goals and express their views without fear of persecution.
Critical rationalism: A commitment to questioning established beliefs and subjecting them to rigorous scrutiny. Blind faith and unquestioning obedience are rejected in favor of reasoned debate.
Tolerance of dissent: Different perspectives are not only tolerated but actively encouraged as vital components of progress and innovation.
Peaceful conflict resolution: Disputes are resolved through dialogue and compromise, not through violence or coercion.
Rule of law: Everyone, including those in power, is subject to the same laws, preventing arbitrary rule and protecting individual rights.

This isn't a utopian ideal; it's a constantly evolving process demanding vigilance and active participation from its citizens.

Identifying the Enemies of the Open Society

Popper identified several historical and philosophical traditions as enemies of the open society. These aren't necessarily monolithic groups, but rather recurring patterns of thought and action that undermine its fundamental principles:

#### 1. Plato's Philosopher-King Ideal:

Popper argued that Plato's vision of a society ruled by philosopher-kings, while seemingly benevolent, ultimately creates an environment where power is concentrated and dissent is suppressed. The claim to absolute knowledge inherent in this model stifles critical inquiry and opens the door to tyranny.

#### 2. Hegelian Historicism:

Popper critiqued Hegel's belief in a predetermined historical trajectory leading to a utopian end. This deterministic worldview, he argued, justifies the use of violence and coercion to accelerate history towards its purported conclusion, thus sacrificing individual freedom on the altar of a future ideal.

#### 3. Marxism and Totalitarianism:

Popper saw in Marxism a similar deterministic worldview that justifies the suppression of individual liberties in the name of a future communist utopia. He argued that the inherent violence and authoritarianism of totalitarian regimes, regardless of their ideological branding, directly contradict the principles of an open society.

#### 4. Tribalism and Nationalism:

These ideologies, while seemingly different, share a common tendency to prioritize group identity over individual rights. The "us vs. them" mentality fostered by these ideologies can lead to exclusion, discrimination, and violence, thereby undermining the tolerance and inclusivity essential to an open society.

#### 5. Populism and Demagoguery:

Contemporary threats to the open society include the rise of populist and demagogic leaders who exploit societal anxieties and divisions. They often appeal to emotion over reason, stoke fear and hatred, and circumvent democratic processes to consolidate power, ultimately silencing dissent and undermining the rule of law.

The Ongoing Struggle for an Open Society

The enemies of the open society are not static; they adapt and evolve. Understanding their underlying strategies – the manipulation of information, the exploitation of fear and prejudice, the erosion of trust in institutions – is crucial for defending against them. This requires constant vigilance, critical thinking, and a commitment to the principles of tolerance, reason, and individual liberty. We must actively participate in democratic processes, challenge misinformation, and promote a culture of open dialogue and mutual respect.

Conclusion

Karl Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies" remains a remarkably prescient work. His analysis of the threats to open societies continues to resonate today, offering valuable insights into the ongoing struggle to preserve freedom and democracy in the face of various ideological and political challenges. By understanding these threats and actively engaging in the defense of open society principles, we can safeguard the values that underpin a just and flourishing world.

FAQs

1. Is Popper's concept of an open society a utopian ideal? No, Popper didn't present it as a perfect state but rather as an ongoing process that requires constant effort and vigilance. It acknowledges imperfections and embraces continuous improvement through critical self-reflection.

2. How does an open society differ from a liberal democracy? While closely related, an open society is a broader concept. Liberal democracy is a specific political system that incorporates many elements of an open society, but an open society can exist even in the absence of a fully realized liberal democracy.

3. Can an open society exist in a society with significant inequalities? Popper acknowledged the importance of addressing social and economic inequalities, but he argued that an open society prioritizes the creation of a framework that allows for individual liberty and the pursuit of justice, even while acknowledging the persistent challenges of inequality.

4. How can we combat the rise of populism and demagoguery, which threaten open societies? Promoting media literacy, critical thinking skills, and robust fact-checking mechanisms are crucial. Strengthening democratic institutions and fostering a culture of civic engagement are also essential to resisting the appeal of populist leaders.

5. What role does education play in preserving an open society? Education is paramount. It fosters critical thinking, promotes tolerance, and equips citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate meaningfully in democratic processes and resist the manipulation of information.


  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Popper, 2012-11-12 Popper is one of the twentieth century's towering and influential philosophical and intellectual figures, widely read today This marks the first time The Open Society and Its Enemies has been published in a single paperback volume (hardback version was published for the Popper Centenary in 2002) Features a preface by Vaclav Havel and a 'personal recollection' on the story behind the book's publication by Ernst GombrichThe Open Society is one of the twentieth century's most important books, both in its impact on European intellectual and political life and in its sales
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and its Enemies Karl Popper, 2012-12-06 Written in political exile in New Zealand during the Second World War and published in two volumes in 1945, The Open Society and its Enemies was hailed by Bertrand Russell as a 'vigorous and profound defence of democracy'. This legendary attack on the philosophies of Plato, Hegel and Marx prophesied the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and exposed the fatal flaws of socially engineered political systems. It remains highly readable, erudite and lucid and as essential reading today as on publication in 1945. It is available here in a special centenary single-volume edition.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl R. Popper, 2013-04-21 One of the most important books of the twentieth century, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. Popper was born in 1902 to a Viennese family of Jewish origin. He taught in Austria until 1937, when he emigrated to New Zealand in anticipation of the Nazi annexation of Austria the following year, and he settled in England in 1949. Before the annexation, Popper had written mainly about the philosophy of science, but from 1938 until the end of the Second World War he focused his energies on political philosophy, seeking to diagnose the intellectual origins of German and Soviet totalitarianism. The Open Society and Its Enemies was the result. An immediate sensation when it was first published in two volumes in 1945, Popper's monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right and is credited with inspiring anticommunist dissidents during the Cold War. Arguing that the spirit of free, critical inquiry that governs scientific investigation should also apply to politics, Popper traces the roots of an opposite, authoritarian tendency to a tradition represented by Plato, Marx, and Hegel. In a substantial new introduction written for this edition, acclaimed political philosopher Alan Ryan puts Popper's landmark work in biographical, intellectual, and historical context. Also included is a personal essay by eminent art historian E. H. Gombrich, in which he recounts the story of the book's eventual publication despite numerous rejections and wartime deprivations.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Raimund Popper, 2003 Written in political exile during the Second World War and first published in 1945, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemiesis one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. Hailed by Bertrand Russell as a 'vigorous and profound defence of democracy', its now legendary attack on the philosophies of Plato, Hegel and Marx exposed the dangers inherent in centrally planned political systems. Popper's highly accessible style, his erudite and lucid explanations of the thought of great philosophers and the recent resurgence of totalitarian regimes around the world are just three of the reasons for the enduring popularity of The Open Society and Its Enemies, and for why it demands to be read both today and in years to come. This is the second of two volumes of The Open Society and Its Enemies.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Popper, 2005-07-26 Written in political exile during the Second World War and first published in 1945, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. Hailed by Bertrand Russell as a 'vigorous and profound defence of democracy', its now legendary attack on the philosophies of Plato, Hegel and Marx exposed the dangers inherent in centrally planned political systems. Popper's highly accessible style, his erudite and lucid explanations of the thought of great philosophers and the recent resurgence of totalitarian regimes around the world are just three of the reasons for the enduring popularity of The Open Society and Its Enemies, and for why it demands to be read both today and in years to come. This is the second of two volumes of The Open Society and Its Enemies.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies: The spell of Plato Karl Raimund Popper, 1971 Popper was born in 1902 to a Viennese family of Jewish origin. He taught in Austria until 1937, when he emigrated to New Zealand in anticipation of the Nazi annexation of Austria the following year, and he settled in England in 1949. Before the annexation, Popper had written mainly about the philosophy of science, but from 1938 until the end of the Second World War he focused his energies on political philosophy, seeking to diagnose the intellectual origins of German and Soviet totalitarianism. The Open Society and Its Enemies was the result. In the book, Popper condemned Plato, Marx, and Hegel as holists and historicists--a holist, according to Popper, believes that individuals are formed entirely by their social groups; historicists believe that social groups evolve according to internal principles that it is the intellectual's task to uncover. Popper, by contrast, held that social affairs are unpredictable, and argued vehemently against social engineering. He also sought to shift the focus of political philosophy away from questions about who ought to rule toward questions about how to minimize the damage done by the powerful. The book was an immediate sensation, and--though it has long been criticized for its portrayals of Plato, Marx, and Hegel--it has remained a landmark on the left and right alike for its defense of freedom and the spirit of critical inquiry.
  the open society and its enemies: Open Society and Its Enemies. Volume 2 Karl Raimund Popper, 1966 Popper was born in 1902 to a Viennese family of Jewish origin. He taught in Austria until 1937, when he emigrated to New Zealand in anticipation of the Nazi annexation of Austria the following year, and he settled in England in 1949. Before the annexation, Popper had written mainly about the philosophy of science, but from 1938 until the end of the Second World War he focused his energies on political philosophy, seeking to diagnose the intellectual origins of German and Soviet totalitarianism. The Open Society and Its Enemies was the result. In the book, Popper condemned Plato, Marx, and Hegel as holists and historicists--a holist, according to Popper, believes that individuals are formed entirely by their social groups; historicists believe that social groups evolve according to internal principles that it is the intellectual's task to uncover. Popper, by contrast, held that social affairs are unpredictable, and argued vehemently against social engineering. He also sought to shift the focus of political philosophy away from questions about who ought to rule toward questions about how to minimize the damage done by the powerful. The book was an immediate sensation, and--though it has long been criticized for its portrayals of Plato, Marx, and Hegel--it has remained a landmark on the left and right alike for its defense of freedom and the spirit of critical inquiry.
  the open society and its enemies: The 100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time Robert McCrum, 2018 Beginning in 1611 with the King James Bible and ending in 2014 with Elizabeth Kolbert's 'The Sixth Extinction', this extraordinary voyage through the written treasures of our culture examines universally-acclaimed classics such as Pepys' 'Diaries', Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Species', Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' and a whole host of additional works --
  the open society and its enemies: Unended Quest Karl Popper, 2005-09-29 At the age of eight, Karl Popper was puzzling over the idea of infinity and by fifteen was beginning to take a keen interest in his father's well-stocked library of books. Unended Quest recounts these moments and many others in the life of one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century, providing an indispensable account of the ideas that influenced him most. As an introduction to Popper's philosophy, Unended Quest also shines. Popper lucidly explains the central ideas in his work, making this book ideal for anyone coming to Popper's life and work for the first time.
  the open society and its enemies: The Poverty of Historicism Karl Popper, 2013-09-05 On its publication in 1957, The Poverty of Historicism was hailed by Arthur Koestler as 'probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century.' A devastating criticism of fixed and predictable laws in history, Popper dedicated the book to all those 'who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.' Short and beautifully written, it has inspired generations of readers, intellectuals and policy makers. One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.
  the open society and its enemies: In Defence of Open Society George Soros, 2019-10-22 George Soros is among the world's most prominent public figures. He is one of the history's most successful investors and his philanthropy, led by the Open Society Foundations, has donated over $14 billion to promote democracy and human rights in more than 120 countries. But in recent years, Soros has become the focus of sustained right-wing attacks in the United States and around the world based on his commitment to open society, progressive politics and his Jewish background. In this brilliant and spirited book, Soros offers a compendium of his philosophy, a clarion call-to-arms for the ideals of an open society: freedom, democracy, rule of law, human rights, social justice, and social responsibility as a universal idea. In this age of nationalism, populism, anti-Semitism, and the spread of authoritarian governments, Soros's mission to support open societies is as urgent as it is important.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Philosophy and the Open Society Maurice Cornforth, 1968
  the open society and its enemies: The Future and Its Enemies Virginia Postrel, 2011-05-10 Today we have greater wealth, health, opportunity, and choice than at any time in history. Yet a chorus of intellectuals and politicians laments our current condition -- as slaves to technology, coarsened by popular culture, and insecure in the face of economic change. The future, they tell us, is dangerously out of control, and unless we precisely govern the forces of change, we risk disaster. In The Future and Its Enemies, Virginia Postrel explodes the myths behind these claims. Using examples that range from medicine to fashion, she explores how progress truly occurs and demonstrates that human betterment depends not on conformity to one central vision but on creativity and decentralized, open-ended trial and error. She argues that these two opposing world-views -- stasis vs. dynamism -- are replacing left and right to define our cultural and political debate as we enter the next century. In this bold exploration of how civilizations learn, Postrel heralds a fundamental shift in the way we view politics, culture, technology, and society as we face an unknown -- and invigorating -- future.
  the open society and its enemies: Popper's Open Society After Fifty Years Ian Jarvie, Sandra Pralong, 2005-08-12 Popper's Open Society After Fifty Years presents a coherent survey of the reception and influence of Karl Popper's masterpiece The Open Society and its Enemies over the fifty years since its publication in 1945, as well as applying some of its principles to the context of modern Eastern Europe. This unique volume contains papers by many of Popper's contemporaries and friends, including such luminaries as Ernst Gombrich, in his paper 'The Open Society and its Enemies: Remembering its Publication Fifty Years Ago'.
  the open society and its enemies: The Logic of Scientific Discovery Karl Popper, 2005-11-04 Described by the philosopher A.J. Ayer as a work of 'great originality and power', this book revolutionized contemporary thinking on science and knowledge. Ideas such as the now legendary doctrine of 'falsificationism' electrified the scientific community, influencing even working scientists, as well as post-war philosophy. This astonishing work ranks alongside The Open Society and Its Enemies as one of Popper's most enduring books and contains insights and arguments that demand to be read to this day.
  the open society and its enemies: Islamism and Its Enemies in the Horn of Africa Alexander De Waal, 2004 America's war on terrorism has thrown political Islam in Africa into the international spotlight. This book examines the social and political manifestations of Islamism in North-East Africa, including the Nile Valley and the Horn. Militant Islamists were a powerful force in the region in the 1990's, seizing state power in Sudan - where they pursued far-reaching programmes for comprehensive social transformation - and threaten all other governments. They suceeded in moving the socio-political consensus onto Islamist terrain, but their more ambitious aims were unattainable. By 2000, jihad-ist Islamism was in retreat, brought down both by its own political and ideological limitations and by the wars waged by its adversaries. In the meantime, however, the regional enemies of the Islamic state themselves faced exhaustion. Since 2001, a new set of dynamics is beginning to unfold in the region, reflecting American global domination and how the US agenda is refracted through local political struggles.
  the open society and its enemies: All Life is Problem Solving Karl Popper, 2013-04-15 'Never before has there been so many and such dreadful weapons in so many irresponsible hands.' - Karl Popper, from the Preface All Life is Problem Solving is a stimulating and provocative selection of Popper's writings on his main preoccupations during the last twenty-five years of his life. This collection illuminates Popper's process of working out key formulations in his theory of science, and indicates his view of the state of the world at the end of the Cold War and after the collapse of communism.
  the open society and its enemies: The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge Karl Popper, 2014-05-01 In a letter of 1932, Karl Popper described Die beiden Grundprobleme der Erkenntnistheorie – The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge – as ‘...a child of crises, above all of ...the crisis of physics.’ Finally available in English, it is a major contribution to the philosophy of science, epistemology and twentieth century philosophy generally. The two fundamental problems of knowledge that lie at the centre of the book are the problem of induction, that although we are able to observe only a limited number of particular events, science nevertheless advances unrestricted universal statements; and the problem of demarcation, which asks for a separating line between empirical science and non-science. Popper seeks to solve these two basic problems with his celebrated theory of falsifiability, arguing that the inferences made in science are not inductive but deductive; science does not start with observations and proceed to generalise them but with problems, which it attacks with bold conjectures. The Two Fundamental Problems of the Theory of Knowledge is essential reading for anyone interested in Karl Popper, in the history and philosophy of science, and in the methods and theories of science itself.
  the open society and its enemies: The Pivotal Generation Henry Shue, 2022-01-11 We all recognize that climate change is a supremely important issue of our time, which requires both trans-national and trans-generational collaboration and shared responsibility. What we haven't yet fully appreciated, argues political philosopher Henry Shue, are the ethical considerations surrounding the fact that the next one or two decades will determine whether climate change, which already has led us to dangerous effects, will surge into inescapably disastrous effects. The people alive today thus represent a pivotal generation in human history. For the past two centuries humans have undermined our climate at an increasing rate, in ways that the present generations are the first to fully understand, and the last to be able to reverse. But our responsibility for decisive and immediate action rests on three special features of the relation of our present to the future, that many have failed to realize (1) future generations face dangers greater than ours even if we act robustly, (2) the worsening dangers for future generations are currently without limit, and (3) a less robust effort by us is likely to allow climate change to pass critical tipping points for severely worse and potentially unavoidable future dangers. Shue, a renowned scholar of ethics, politics and international relations who has been studying the ethics of climate change for the last two decades, guides us through what our ethical responsibilities to others are, both across the world but especially over time, and what those commitments require us to do in addressing the climate change crisis, now and forcefully--
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Complexities Gerald Gaus, 2021-08-06 A mere two decades ago it was widely assumed that liberal democracy and the Open Society it created had decisively won their century-long struggle against authoritarianism. Although subsequent events have shocked many, F.A. Hayek would not have been surprised that we are in many ways disoriented by the society we have created. As he understood it, the Open Society was a precarious achievement in many ways at odds with our deepest moral sentiments. His path-breaking analyses argued that the Open Society runs against our evolved attraction to tribalism that the Open Society is too complex for moral justification; and that its self-organized complexity defies attempts at democratic governance. In his final, wide-ranging book, Gerald Gaus critically reexamines Hayek's analyses. Drawing on diverse work in social and moral science, Gaus argues that Hayek's program was manifestly prescient and strikingly sophisticated, always identifying real and pressing problems. Yet, Gaus maintains, Hayek underestimated the resources of human morality and the Open Society to cope with the challenges he perceived. Gaus marshals formal models and empirical evidence to show that our Open Society is grounded on moral foundations of human cooperation originating in our distant evolutionary past, but has built upon them a complex and diverse society that requires us to rethink both the nature of moral justification and the meaning of democratic self-governance. In these fearful, angry and inwardly-looking times, when political philosophy has itself become a hostile exchange between ideological camps, The Open Society and Its Complexities shows how moral and ideological diversity, so far from being the enemy of a free and open society, can be its foundation.
  the open society and its enemies: Karl Popper, Science and Enlightenment Nicholas Maxwell, 2017-09-26 Here is an idea that just might save the world. It is that science, properly understood, provides us with the methodological key to the salvation of humanity. A version of this idea can be found in the works of Karl Popper. Famously, Popper argued that science cannot verify theories but can only refute them, and this is how science makes progress. Scientists are forced to think up something better, and it is this, according to Popper, that drives science forward.But Nicholas Maxwell finds a flaw in this line of argument. Physicists only ever accept theories that are unified – theories that depict the same laws applying to the range of phenomena to which the theory applies – even though many other empirically more successful disunified theories are always available. This means that science makes a questionable assumption about the universe, namely that all disunified theories are false. Without some such presupposition as this, the whole empirical method of science breaks down.By proposing a new conception of scientific methodology, which can be applied to all worthwhile human endeavours with problematic aims, Maxwell argues for a revolution in academic inquiry to help humanity make progress towards a better, more civilized and enlightened world.
  the open society and its enemies: Society Of The Spectacle Guy Debord, 2012-10-01 The Das Kapital of the 20th century,Society of the Spectacle is an essential text, and the main theoretical work of the Situationists. Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960's, in particular the May 1968 uprisings in France, up to the present day, with global capitalism seemingly staggering around in it’s Zombie end-phase, the volatile theses of this book have decisively transformed debates on the shape of modernity, capitalism, and everyday life in the late 20th century. This ‘Red and Black’ translation from 1977 is Introduced by Notting Hill armchair insurrectionary Tom Vague with a galloping time line and pop-situ verve, and given a more analytical over view by young upstart thinker Sam Cooper.
  the open society and its enemies: Utopia Thomas More, 2019-04-08 Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries.
  the open society and its enemies: Civilization and Its Enemies Lee Harris, 2004-03-11 Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe....They forget that in time of danger, in the face of the enemy, they must trust and confide in each other, or perish....They forget, in short, that there has ever been a category of human experience called the enemy. That, before 9/11, was what had happened to us. The very concept of the enemy had been banished from our moral and political vocabulary. An enemy was just a friend we hadn't done enough for yet. Or perhaps there had been a misunderstanding, or an oversight on our part -- something that we could correct.... Our first task is therefore to try to grasp what the concept of the enemy really means. The enemy is someone who is willing to die in order to kill you. And while it is true that the enemy always hates us for a reason, it is his reason, and not ours. So begins Civilization and Its Enemies, an extraordinary tour de force by America's reigning philosopher of 9/11, Lee Harris. What Francis Fukuyama did for the end of the Cold War, Lee Harris has now done for the next great conflict: the war between the civilized world and the international terrorists who wish to destroy it. Each major turning point in our history has produced one great thinker who has been able to step back from petty disagreements and see the bigger picture -- and Lee Harris has emerged as that man for our time. He is the one who has helped make sense of the terrorists' fantasies and who forces us most strongly to confront the fact that our enemy -- for the first time in centuries -- refuses to play by any of our rules, or to think in any of our categories. We are all naturally reluctant to face a true enemy. Most of us cannot give up the myth that tolerance is the greatest of virtues and that we can somehow convert the enemy to our beliefs. Yet, as Harris's brilliant tour through the stages of civilization demonstrates, from Sparta to the French Revolution to the present, civilization depends upon brute force, properly wielded by a sovereign. Today, only America can play the role of sovereign on the world stage, by the use of force when necessary. Lee Harris's articles have been hailed by thinkers from across the spectrum. His message is an enduring one that will change the way readers think -- about the war with Iraq, about terrorism, and about our future.
  the open society and its enemies: Omnipotent Government Ludwig Von Mises, 2011-03-23 Liberty is not, as the German precursors of Nazism asserted, a negative ideal. Whether a concept is presented in an affirmative or in a negative form is merely a question of idiom. Freedom from want is tantamount to the expression striving after a state of affairs under which people are better supplied with necessities. Freedom of speech is tantamount to a state of affairs under which everybody can say what he wants to say. At the bottom of all totalitarian doctrines lies the belief that the rulers are wiser and loftier than their subjects and that they therefore know better what benefits those ruled than they themselves. Werner Sombart, for many years a fanatical champion of Marxism and later a no less fanatical advocate of Nazism, was bold enough to assert frankly that the Führer gets his orders from God, the supreme Führer of the universe, and that Führertum is a permanent revelation.* Whoever admits this, must, of course, stop questioning the expediency of government omnipotence. Those disagreeing with this theocratical justification of dictatorship claim for themselves the right to discuss freely the problems involved. They do not write state with a capital S. They do not shrink from analyzing the metaphysical notions of Hegelianism and Marxism. They reduce all this high-sounding oratory to the simple question: are the means suggested suitable to attain the ends sought? In answering this question, they hope to render a service to the great majority of their fellow men.
  the open society and its enemies: Rational Changes in Science Joseph C. Pitt, Marcello Pera, 2012-12-06 THE PROBLEMS OF SCIENTIFIC RATIONALITY Fashion is a fickle mistress. Only yesterday scientific rationality enjoyed considerable attention, consideration, and even reverence among phi losophers; but today's fashion leads us to despise it, and the matron, rejected and abandoned as Hecuba, complains; modo maxima rerum, tot generis natisque potens - nunc trahor exui, inops, to cite Kant for our purpose, who cited Ovid for his. Like every fashion, ours also has its paradoxical aspects, as John Watkins correctly reminds in an essay in this volume. Enthusiasm for science was high among philosophers when significant scientific results were mostly a promise, it declined when that promise became an undeniable reality. Nevertheless, as with the decline of any fashion, even the revolt against scientific rationality has some reasonable grounds. If the taste of the philosophical community has changed so much, it is not due to an incident or a whim. This volume is not about the history of and reasons for this change. Instead, it provides a view of the new emerging image of scientific rationality in both its philosophical and historical aspects. In particular, the aim of the contributions gathered here is to focus on the concept around which the discussions about rationality have mostly taken place: scientific change.
  the open society and its enemies: Rethinking Open Society Michael Ignatieff, Stefan Roch, 2018-06-10 The key values of the Open Society – freedom, justice, tolerance, democracy, and respect for knowledge – are increasingly under threat in today’s world. As an effort to uphold those values, this volume brings together some of the key political, social and economic thinkers of our time to re-examine the Open Society closely in terms of its history, its achievements and failures, and its future prospects. Based on the lecture series Rethinking Open Society, which took place between 2017 and 2018 at the Central European University, the volume is deeply embedded in the history and purpose of CEU, its Open Society mission, and its belief in educating skeptical, but passionate citizens.
  the open society and its enemies: Demagogue Michael Signer, 2009-02-03 A demagogue is a tyrant who owes his initial rise to the democratic support of the masses. Huey Long, Hugo Chavez, and Moqtada al-Sadr are all clear examples of this dangerous byproduct of democracy. Demagogue takes a long view of the fight to defend democracy from within, from the brutal general Cleon in ancient Athens, the demagogues who plagued the bloody French Revolution, George W. Bush's naïve democratic experiment in Iraq, and beyond. This compelling narrative weaves stories about some of history's most fascinating figures, including Adolf Hitler, Senator Joe McCarthy, and General Douglas Macarthur, and explains how humanity's urge for liberty can give rise to dark forces that threaten that very freedom. To find the solution to democracy's demagogue problem, the book delves into the stories of four great thinkers who all personally struggled with democracy--Plato, Alexis de Tocqueville, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt.
  the open society and its enemies: Leo Strauss Robert Howse, 2014-09-08 This book analyzes Leo Strauss's writings on political violence, considering also what he taught in the classroom on this subject.
  the open society and its enemies: The Future and Its Enemies Daniel Innerarity, 2012-07-25 Humans may be the only creatures conscious of having a future, but all too often we would rather not think about it. Likewise, our societies, unable to deal with radical uncertainty, do not make policies with a view to the long term. Instead, we suffer from a sense of powerlessness, collective irrationality, and perennial political discontent. In The Future and Its Enemies, Spanish philosopher Daniel Innerarity makes a plea for a new social contract that would commit us to moral and political responsibility with respect to future generations. He urges us to become advocates for the future in the face of enemies who, oblivious to the costs of modernization, press for endless and unproductive acceleration. His accessible book proposes a new way of confronting the unknown—one grounded in the calculation of risk. Declaring the classical right-left divide to be redundant, Innerarity presents his hopes for a renewed democracy and a politics that would find convincing ways to mediate between the priorities of the present, the heritage of the past, and the challenges that lie ahead.
  the open society and its enemies: EGO IS THE ENEMY Ryan Holiday, 2019-04-08 Buku yang Anda pegang saat ini ditulis dengan satu asumsi optimis: Ego Anda bukanlah kekuatan yang harus Anda puaskan pada setiap kesempatan. Ego dapat diatur. Ego dapat diarahkan. Dalam buku ini, kita akan melihat orang-orang, seperti William Tecumseh Sherman, Katharine Graham, Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Walsh, Benjamin Franklin, Belisarius, Angela Merkel, dan George C. Marshall. Bisakah mereka mendapatkan yang telah mereka dapatkan sekarang—menyelamatkan perusahaan yang hampir bangkrut, menguasai seni peperangan, menjaga kekompakan tim bisbol, merevolusi strategi rugbi, melawan tirani, dan menghadapi ketidakberuntungan—jika ego menguasai mereka dan membuat mereka hanya memikirkan diri sendiri? Hal yang membuat mereka sukses adalah pemahaman terhadap realitas dan kesadaran—sesuatu yang pernah dikatakan oleh seorang penulis dan ahli strategi Robert Greene, “kita perlu menyerupai laba-laba dalam sarangnya”. Itulah inti dari kehebatan mereka, kehebatan penulisan, kehebatan desain, kehebatan bisnis, kehebatan dalam pemasaran, dan kehebatan kepemimpinan mereka. Yang kami temukan saat mempelajari orang-orang tersebut adalah mereka selalu memiliki dasar berpikir, berhati-hati, dan realistis. Tidak ada satu pun dari mereka yang tidak memiliki ego sama sekali. Akan tetapi, mereka tahu cara meredamnya. Tahu cara menyalurkannya dan melepaskannya, ketika ego muncul. Mereka hebat namun tetap rendah hati. Sebentar, tunggu dulu, tetapi ada juga beberapa orang yang memiliki ego tinggi dan sukses. Bagaimana dengan Steve Jobs? Kanye West? Beberapa dari mereka mempelajari kerendahan hati. Beberapa orang memilih ego. Beberapa mempersiapkan diri untuk perubahan nasib, positif ataupun negatif. Yang lainnya tidak siap. Yang mana yang akan Anda pilih? Akan menjadi siapakah Anda? Yang pasti, Anda telah memilih buku ini karena merasa bahwa Anda membutuhkan menjawab pertanyaan itu, cepat atau lambat, sadar atau tidak sadar.
  the open society and its enemies: Conjectures and Refutations Karl Raimund Popper, 2002 Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insight into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Raimund Popper, 2003
  the open society and its enemies: Conscience and Its Enemies Robert P. George, 2016-03-29 “Many in elite circles yield to the temptation to believe that anyone who disagrees with them is a bigot or a religious fundamentalist. Reason and science, they confidently believe, are on their side. With this book, I aim to expose the emptiness of that belief.” From the introduction: Assaults on religious liberty and traditional morality are growing fiercer. Here, at last, is the counterattack. Showcasing the talents that have made him one of America’s most acclaimed and influential thinkers, Robert P. George explodes the myth that the secular elite represents the voice of reason. In fact, George shows, it is on the elite side of the cultural divide where the prevailing views frequently are nothing but articles of faith. Conscience and Its Enemies reveals the bankruptcy of these too often smugly held orthodoxies while presenting powerfully reasoned arguments for classical virtues.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society And Its Enemies Vol II Kr Popper, 2023-07-18 In this classic work of political philosophy, Popper continues his critique of historicism and defends the principles of an open society. He examines the intellectual roots of totalitarianism and offers a powerful defense of liberal democracy. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
  the open society and its enemies: Open Democracy Hélène Landemore, 2022-03-08 To the ancient Greeks, democracy meant gathering in public and debating laws set by a randomly selected assembly of several hundred citizens. To the Icelandic Vikings, democracy meant meeting every summer in a field to discuss issues until consensus was reached. Our contemporary representative democracies are very different. Modern parliaments are gated and guarded, and it seems as if only certain people are welcome. Diagnosing what is wrong with representative government and aiming to recover some of the openness of ancient democracies, Open Democracy presents a new paradigm of democracy. Supporting a fresh nonelectoral understanding of democratic representation, Hélène Landemore demonstrates that placing ordinary citizens, rather than elites, at the heart of democratic power is not only the true meaning of a government of, by, and for the people, but also feasible and, more than ever, urgently needed. -- Cover page 4.
  the open society and its enemies: The Open Society and Its Friends Rocco Pezzimenti, 1997
  the open society and its enemies: Advanced Macroeconomics Filipe R. Campante, Federico Sturzenegger, Andrés Velasco, 2021-10-11 Macroeconomic policy is one of the most important policy domains, and the tools of macroeconomics are among the most valuable for policy makers. Yet there has been, up to now, a wide gulf between the level at which macroeconomics is taught at the undergraduate level and the level at which it is practiced. At the same time, doctoral-level textbooks are usually not targeted at a policy audience, making advanced macroeconomics less accessible to current and aspiring practitioners. This book, born out of the Masters course the authors taught for many years at the Harvard Kennedy School, fills this gap. It introduces the tools of dynamic optimization in the context of economic growth, and then applies them to a wide range of policy questions – ranging from pensions, consumption, investment and finance, to the most recent developments in fiscal and monetary policy. It does so with the requisite rigor, but also with a light touch, and an unyielding focus on their application to policy-making, as befits the authors’ own practical experience. Advanced Macroeconomics: An Easy Guide is bound to become a great resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, and practitioners alike.
  the open society and its enemies: Ancient China and its Enemies Nicola Di Cosmo, 2002-02-25 Relations between Inner Asian nomads and Chinese are a continuous theme throughout Chinese history. By investigating the formation of nomadic cultures, by analyzing the evolution of patterns of interaction along China's frontiers, and by exploring how this interaction was recorded in historiography, this looks at the origins of the cultural and political tensions between these two civilizations through the first millennium BC. The main purpose of the book is to analyze ethnic, cultural, and political frontiers between nomads and Chinese in the historical contexts that led to their formation, and to look at cultural perceptions of 'others' as a function of the same historical process. Based on both archaeological and textual sources, this 2002 book also introduces a new methodological approach to Chinese frontier history, which combines extensive factual data with a careful scrutiny of the motives, methods, and general conception of history that informed the Chinese historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien.
  the open society and its enemies: “The” Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Raimund Popper, 2002
The Open Society And Its Enemies (1962) - Public Intelli…
social reconstruction. Its aim and the line of approach are indicated in the Introduction. Even where it looks back …

Full text of The Open Society And Its Enemies Vol I
THE OPEN SOCIETY AND ITS ENEMIES THE SPELL OF PLATO. by K. R. POPPER. Volume I. THE SPELL OF PLATO. London. …

The Open Society And Its Enemies (book)
The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl R. Popper,2013-04-21 One of the most important books of the twentieth …

The Open Society and Its Enemies - Princeton University
The Open Society and Its Enemies was one of the monumental achieve-ments of political and social philosophy in the …

The Open Society and Its Enemies - De Gruyter
The Open Society and Its Enemies. New One-Volume Edition. With a new introduction by Alan Ryan and an essay …

The Open Society And Its Enemies - Piedmont University
Sep 19, 2023 · The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl Raimund Popper,2011 Written in political exile during the …

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The Open Society and its Enemies champions the cause of democracy, which it shows to be the only form of …

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Open Society And Its Enemies is one of the best book in our library for free trial. We provide copy of Open Society And …

David Maxwell, Foundation for Defense of Democracy Tara O …
the open society and its enemies. I should mention as well, by the way, that we are very sorry not to be able to include in our discussion this afternoon Ms. Jeane Lee of the Wilson Center.

george soros the soros lectures
time I was reading Karl Popper’s Open Society and Its Enemies. It was Popper’s insistence on our inherent fallibility that led me to ques-tion the basic assumptions of economic theory and develop the concept of reflexivity. But on a conceptual level the connection is only indirect. It is the first pillar, fallibility, that connects the ...

THE EREWHONIANS AND THE OPEN SOCIETY - JSTOR
THE OPEN SOCIETY KARL R. POPPER * IT young is with people some about hesitancy a grave that issue I of address our time an such audience as "The of young people about a grave issue of our time such as "The Open Society and Its Enemies." For I belong to a generation which has not done too well. It is a generation which has

Plato and Popper - JSTOR
The Open Society and Its Enemies.' It extols the "open" as against the "closed" society and criticizes those thinkers who have supposedly advocated the closed society. The first volume is concerned with criticizing Plato, whom Popper believes to be the chief totalitarian theorist of the ancient world; the second

The Open Society And Its Enemies (book)
Karl Popper,2005-07-26 Written in political exile during the Second World War and first published in 1945 Karl Popper s The Open Society and Its Enemies is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century Hailed by Bertrand Russell as a

Karl Popper’s The Open Society and its Enemies, and its …
published a work entitled The Open Society and its Enemies in two volumes, the first subtitled The Spell of Plato, and the second focusing on Hegel and Marx.4 It quickly earned praise from leading academics. In the journal Mind, Gilbert Ryle, the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical

The Open Society and Its Friends - gaus.biz
Jan 10, 2017 · the open society were an irreversible achievement. Popper began The Open Society and Its Enemies by proclaiming that his aim was to wrestle with: “difficulties faced by a civilization which aims at humaneness and reasonableness, at equality and freedom; a civilization which is still in its infancy, and which continues to

The Common Good and the Open Society - JSTOR
of its function to protect the private interests of its members. Eventually the latter theory prevailed and, after it became reinforced by resistance movements against repressive national government policies, it led to a doctrine of individual rights as independent of society. The intellectual and moral pluralism of recent times has

Open Society And Its Enemies Copy - netsec.csuci.edu
Open Society and Its Enemies: A Deep Dive into the Ideologies that Threaten Freedom The concept of an "open society," characterized by freedom of expression, individual rights, and democratic participation, is under constant threat. This post delves into the historical and contemporary enemies of open societies, examining the

Open science and its enemies: Challenges for a sustainable …
Open science and its enemies: Challenges for a sustainable science-society social contract Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity ... only to fellow scientists and peers but in various forms for the benefit of society at large. Open science should not be confused with the publication of available scientific information ...

Archive.org
Jan 18, 2020 · The Open Society And Its Enemies Complete: Volumes I and II Karl R. Popper 1962 Fifth edition (revised) 1966 2-X s of mo understanding to the person who took the lead ISBN 0-691-0

Open Society And Its Enemies - archive.southernwv.edu
Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. An immediate sensation when it was first published, Karl Popper’s monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right. Tracing the roots of an authoritarian tradition ...

Cosmopolitan Society and its Enemies: Historical Amnesia …
Popper’s ‘open society’ for the 21st century in Cosmopolitan Society and Its Enemies (Beck 2002). He explains that ‘cosmopolitan society’ is based on “dialogic imagination” or a vision of a globally shared collective future (p. 27). For Beck, ‘cosmopolitan society’ would be possible if we could learn from and survive in a ‘risk

THE OPEN SOCIETY: ITS NEW, INSIDIOUS ENEMIES J.L.C.
THE OPEN SOCIETY: ITS NEW, INSIDIOUS ENEMIES THE NEW MORAL GUARDIANS AND THE NEW REPUBLIC by J.L.C. Chipman* and H.J. McCloskey** 1. Introduction It is inherent in open societies that they constantly be subject to attack, overt or covert, from within as well as without- Today the

The Open Society in Theory and Practice - Springer
1 An earlier version of this paper was presented at The Open Society Conference, Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Italy, June 28-July 4, 1972, under the title "The Open Society and tlle Final Frontier." The paper was heavily revised in July, 1973. 2 Karl Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1945).

PRELIMINARY REFLECTIONS ON THE OPEN SOCIETY: …
After Bergson, it is logical to move to Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945), which did so much to give the phrase wide currency in the English-speaking world, but which differs from Bergson's treatment in ... The open society is the society which is deemed in principle to embrace all humanity. A dream dreamt, now and again, by ...

Karl Popper's Critique of Historicism, the Historical School, …
Watkins's are suggested by a reading of ERNST GOMBRICH's The Open Society and Its Enemies: Remembering Its Publication Fifty Years Ago, LSE, London 1995. 513 . ADAM J. CHMIELEWSKI Popper also fails to provide conclusive reasons to believe that his critical theory is itself criticisable, from which it follows that Popper's theory of ...

The Open Society And Its Enemies (1962)
The Open Society And Its Enemies Complete: Volumes I and II Karl R. Popper 1962 Fifth edition (revised) 1966 2-X s of mo understanding to the person who took the lead ISBN 0-691-01968-1, 0-691-0197 Scanner’s note: The text has been spell-checked and checked for consistency in various ways, but it has not been proofread. By the same author:

La sociedad abierta y sus enemigos - Proletarios
Título original: The Open Society and its Enemies Karl R. Popper, 1945 Traducción: Eduardo Loedel Rodríguez Traducción de los adenda: Amparo Gómez Rodríguez Editor digital: Titivillus ... , Brace and Company, por pasajes de The Mind and Society, 1935, de V. Pareto, y de Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1921-1922, de L. Wittgenstein; Hodder

CONSPECTUS - Niskanen Center
an open society, a concept taken from Karl Popper’s The Open Society & Its Enemies (Routledge, 1945). An open society, Popper argued, is one driven by the longing of people “to free themselves and their minds from the tutelage of authority and prejudice.” Correspondingly, such …

History of Open and Closed Societies - Springer
Open Society and its Enemies, first published in 1945. Popper argued that most societies through human history have been closed and that the Athenian Greeks were the first to create a truly “open society”. For Popper, the distinction is as follows. The closed society has

Smart Card Technology International –1999 Application …
The Open Society and its Enemies Sociopolitical Issues and Smart Card Market Development Graeme Freedman outlines impending sociopolitical issues in smartcard business development. Karl Popper, perhaps this centuries greatest philosopher of science, in 1944 completed two volumes entitled “The Open Society and its Enemies” from which

The Open Society and Its Enemies