Description
Book SynopsisWritten 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.
Trade Review'A modern classic.' - The Independent
'A brilliant polemic It remains the best intellectual defence of liberal democracy against know-it-all totalitarianism.' - The Economist
'This is a work of great interest and significance, stimulating and suggestive throughout. Dr Popper's virtues are manifold. He has a great fertility of ideas. Almost every sentence gives us something to think about.' - G.C. Field, Philosophy
Table of ContentsThe High Tide of Prophecy. The Rise of Oracular Philosophy - The Aristotelian Roots of Hegelianism, hegel and The New Tribalism. Marx's Method - Marx's Sociological Determinism, The Autonomy of Sociology, Economic Historicism, The Classes, The Legal and the Cocial System. Marx's Prophecy - The Coming of Socialism, The Social Revolution, Capitalism and Its Fate, An Evaluation of the Prophecy. Marx's Ethics - The Moral Theory of Historicism. The Aftermath - The Sociology of Knowledgy, Oracular Philosophy and the Revolt aganist Reason. Conclusion - Has History any Meaning? Addenda (1961, 1965).
