Open Society
The open society is a model of Karl Popper's society , which is in the tradition of liberalism and which aims to unleash “the critical abilities of people”. The power of the state should be divided as much as possible in order to prevent abuse of power. Popper's idea of the open society is closely related to the state form of democracy connected, but not as a rule of the majority , rather than the possibility of the government deselect violence. The open society is opposed to the laissez-faire society on the one hand, and the totalitarian , holistic - collectivist thinking-oriented "closed society" on the other , which Popper also ironically calls "heaven on earth" because it is propagated as such.
overview
The term “open society” is already used in the book Les Deux Sources de la morale et de la religion (1932) by the French philosopher Henri Bergson . He gained greater prominence in the German-speaking world through the work The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945) by Karl Popper. In it Popper turns against totalitarian forms of government such as fascism , National Socialism and communism . He traces its origin back to the philosophies of Plato , Hegel and Karl Marx and their followers. In particular, their doctrine of a regularity of history ( historicism ) is at the center of Popper's criticism. He insists that every historical subject can influence the further course of things with his decisions and actions at any point in time, while historicalistic representations suggest that there is an ideal or an ideal form to be striven for , towards which historical development inevitably strives.
In open societies, in contrast to ideologically determined, closed societies that pursue a plan of salvation that is binding for all, an intellectual exchange of views is permitted, which also enables cultural changes. Therefore, freedom of expression , association and assembly as well as strict religious neutrality are of fundamental importance for open societies.
Institutions are inevitable, but in open societies they have to face constant criticism and always remain changeable. The nation-state is in a open society merely a momentary evil that can be overcome in the long term. It is intended to ensure adequate basic services based on work , but above all to enable an egalitarian social structure without the rule of “elites”. As a maxim, Popper suggests the more modest minimization of suffering instead of maximizing happiness.
According to Popper, the best form of government is democracy , which Popper redefines as a form of rule in which it is possible to exchange rulers without bloodshed. This, and not the claim that the majority is right, is the greatest asset of democracy.
criticism
Criticism of the term was among others Ralf Dahrendorf , according to which Popper's liberalism underestimated the necessity and importance of social ties ( ligatures ) and traditions . William W. Bartley , conversely, accused Popper of fideism and criticized Popper for placing too much emphasis on the need for tradition. The German publicist and historian Joachim Fest was of the opinion that the open society, according to its liberal basic conception, was not in a position to create or maintain what he believed to be a necessary minimum consensus with regard to basic values (cf. Böckenförde dictum ). Instead, like no other form of society, it would also offer its opponents space to work on the destruction of the open society. Compared to utopian ideologies, the open society is argued at a disadvantage because of its alleged “empty content”.
Others
The American-Hungarian financier George Soros , who is a great admirer of Popper, founded a foundation called the Open Society Institute in 1993 to promote the idea of the open society after the dissolution of the Soviet Union .
literature
- Karl R. Popper: The open society and its enemies [The Open Society and Its Enemies] . Part 1: The Spell of Plato . Routledge, London 1945. In German as The Magic of Plato . Francke Verlag Munich 1957. Many other editions. Last edition as 8th edition, Mohr, Tübingen 2003, ISBN 978-3-16-148068-3 (= Karl R. Popper: Collected Works in German Language, Volume 5, ISBN 978-3-16-147801-7 published by Hubert Kiesewetter).
- Karl R. Popper: The open society and its enemies [The Open Society and Its Enemies] . Part 2: The high tide of prophecy: Hegel, Marx and the aftermath . Routledge, London 1945. In German as False Prophets: Hegel, Marx and the consequences , Francke, Munich 1958. Many other editions. The last: 8th edition, Mohr, Tübingen 2003, ISBN 978-3-16-148069-0 (= Karl R. Popper: Collected Works in German Language, Volume 6, ISBN 978-3-16-147802-4 published by Hubert Kiesewetter).
- Karl R Popper; Jeremy Shearmur, Piers Norris Turner (Ed.): After the Open Society , selected social and political writings, Routledge, 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-30908-0 ( Memories of Austria, Lectures from New Zealand, On The open society , The Cold War and after, After The open society ).
- Friedrich August von Hayek : Law, Legislation and Liberty , German: Law, Law and Freedom . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2003, ISBN 978-3-16-147878-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Henri Bergson: Les Deux Sources de la morale et de la religion , Félix Alcan, 1937 [1932], pp. 287–343.
- ^ Leszek Kołakowski : Modernity on Endless Trial (1997), p. 162
- ↑ cf. Joachim Fest: Difficult freedom. About the open flank of the open society . Siedler, Berlin, 1993, ISBN 3-8868-0530-1