The Open Society and Its Enemies

New One-Volume Edition

By: Karl Popper

Narrated by: Liam Gerrard

Length: 23 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1994 The University of Klagenfurt/Karl Popper Library (P)2019 Tantor

A very difficult book

The beginning refutation of Plato, the total dismissal of Hegel, and the books concluding chapters are, however, worth the effort.

Such Delicious Moral Logic

Seminal work of genius. Popper reaches back to Plato to find the root of Hegelian logical fallacy, and lays it all bare- explaining the future of European moral systems without drifting into baseless assertions. Every point has been examined, and he invites the reader to examine them again.

Good but heavy!

it's more of a scholars type of book and needs to be read and studied rather than listened. it has great approaches towards reason and philosophical stands about life and politics. I emphasize, this book seriously needs to be read and studied.

Riveting development of ideas

As Karl Popper stated in the conclusion, this subject was not his main interest nor expertise. But it's a wonderful development and summary of ideas of some influential characters from ancient Greece to our own time.
It's much aided by his main area of interest which was the epistemology of science. Of course, he is well known for his "black swan" metaphor, and also the idea that a valid scientific hypothesis or theory must be falsifiable, but he went way beyond that. This background helped Popper to understand and then to explain the dubiousness of historicism, which he shows was handed down from Plato, to Hegel, to Marx, and to current adherents. He really blasts Hegel, for one.
Lots to absorb out of a pretty long book; will have to listen again.
I hope Audible makes more of his books available.

eye opener

Give the book a try. you will get so much from it. History is such a great mystery with a great story to tell

Impressive

Popper’s clarity of thought, breadth of knowledge and confidence in opinion impresses. The narrator does well in all technical aspects, but his voice lacks power.

Powerful, Erudite, and Compelling

This book is timeless. It captures the essence of some of Popper’s other famous works (e.g., on The Poverty of Historicism and The Logic of Scientific Discovery). Its greatest contribution is its critique of Plato, Hegel, and Marx and in contrasting Open Societies—those in which the people can choose to change their political leaders—and Closed Societies—those in which political leaders hold all the power (i.e., authoritarian systems). It is THE essential book on political philosophy and is entirely relevant to our own times.

should be required reading at college

I'm a bigger fan of Karl Popper for his political philosophy. i have a hard copy of both of these books. as far as I am concerned this book hardly knows any equal. it is a sufficient rebuttal of Pluto's republic and the real world applications of Marxist philosophy. in my opinion the critiques of this book are not nearly as deep as the book itself and he does respond to almost all the criticisms in appendix sections.

Still relevant !

I'm not a reader of philosophy books but I found this book very interesting and useful as a reader of history books. His criticism on Plato has awoken my interest to revisit some dialogues of Plato ( the Republic, the laws) and see for myself. Popper's view of Hegel has made clear that I should not waste too much time on this man and his unapproachable philosophy. Voice was clear and understandable!

Very Enlightening

The things I learned about Plato were shocking. It’s crazy how most of this book directly applies to the fall of our government happening right now in 2023.