The Open Society and Its Enemies

The Open Society and its Enemies is a major 20th century text, a book that often feels familiar even to many who have not read it. Seen as a call for the 'open society' and for democratic institutions, it was considered particularly relevant in the Cold War-era. With the collapse of the Soviet Union Popper's world view seems to have emerged as triumphant, but the book is still well worth revisiting: the struggles between the interests of the state and those of the individual -- and a pull towards the 'closed society' -- continue even in advanced democratic states, while historicism (vigorously denounced by Popper) continues to find widespread support.