The Open Society and Its Enemies‘If in this book harsh words are spoken about some of the greatest among the intellectual leaders of mankind, my motive is not, I hope, to belittle them. It springs rather from my conviction that, if our civilization is to survive, we must break with the habit of deference to great men.’ - Karl Popper, from the Preface Written in political exile during the Second World War and first published in two volumes in 1945, Karl Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies is one of the most influential books of all time. 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 and through underground editions become an inspiration to lovers of freedom living under communism in Eastern Europe. Popper’s highly accessible style, his erudite and lucid explanations of the thoughts 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 why it demands to be read today and in years to come. |
From inside the book
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... exegesis.' Gilbert Ryle '... a brilliant polemic. . . . It remains the best intellectual defence of liberal democracy against know-it-all totalitarianism.' The Economist Routledge Classics contains the very best of Routledge publishing ...
... intellectual. To me, an intellectual is a person who has devoted his or her life to thinking in more general terms about the affairs of this world and the broader context of things. Of course, it is not only intellectuals who do this ...
... intellectual is a biological species dangerous to humankind. Those who claim this are committing an error very ... intellectuals have succumbed to utopianism or holistic engineering.A great number of intellectuals both past and present ...
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