Download or read book Rethinking Open Society written by Michael Ignatieff and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key values of the Open Society – freedom, justice, tolerance, democracy, and respect for knowledge – are increasingly under threat in today’s world. As an effort to uphold those values, this volume brings together some of the key political, social and economic thinkers of our time to re-examine the Open Society closely in terms of its history, its achievements and failures, and its future prospects. Based on the lecture series Rethinking Open Society, which took place between 2017 and 2018 at the Central European University, the volume is deeply embedded in the history and purpose of CEU, its Open Society mission, and its belief in educating skeptical, but passionate citizens.
Download or read book In Defense of Open Society written by George Soros and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-10-22 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An impassioned defense of open society, academic and media freedom, and human rights. George Soros -- universally known for his philanthropy, progressive politics, and investment success--has been under sustained attack from the far right, nationalists, and anti-Semites in the United States and around the world because of his commitment to open society and liberal democracy. In this brilliant and spirited book, Soros brings together a vital collection of his writings, some never previously published. They deal with a wide range of important and timely topics: the dangers that the instruments of control produced by artificial intelligence and machine learning pose to open societies; what Soros calls his "political philanthropy"; his founding of the Central European University, one of the world's foremost defender of academic freedom; his philosophy; his boom/bust theory of financial markets and its policy implications; and what he calls the tragedy of the European Union. Soros's forceful affirmation of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, social justice, and social responsibility as a universal idea is a clarion call-to-arms for the ideals of open society.
Download or read book The Open Society and Its Enemies written by Karl R. Popper and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 804 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark defense of democracy that has been hailed as one of the most important books of the twentieth century One of the most important books of the twentieth century, The Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. An immediate sensation when it was first published, Karl Popper’s monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right. Tracing the roots of an authoritarian tradition represented by Plato, Marx, and Hegel, Popper argues that the spirit of free, critical inquiry that governs scientific investigation should also apply to politics. In a new foreword, George Soros, who was a student of Popper, describes the “revelation” of first reading the book and how it helped inspire his philanthropic Open Society Foundations.
Download or read book After The Open Society written by Karl Popper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this long-awaited volume, Jeremy Shearmur and Piers Norris Turner bring to light Popper's most important unpublished and uncollected writings from the time of The Open Society until his death in 1994. After The Open Society: Selected Social and Political Writings reveals the development of Popper's political and philosophical thought during and after the Second World War, from his early socialism through to the radical humanitarianism of The Open Society. The papers in this collection, many of which are available here for the first time, demonstrate the clarity and pertinence of Popper's thinking on such topics as religion, history, Plato and Aristotle, while revealing a lifetime of unwavering political commitment. After The Open Society illuminates the thought of one of the twentieth century's greatest philosophers and is essential reading for anyone interested in the recent course of philosophy, politics, history and society.
Download or read book The Influence of Soros written by Emily Tamkin and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A seasoned journalist probes one of the right-wing’s favorite targets, Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist George Soros, to explore the genesis of his influence and the truth of the conspiracies that surround him. For years, hedge fund tycoon George Soros has been demonized by GOP politicians, fringe outlets, and right-wing media personalities, who claim Soros often manipulates the global economy and masterminds the radical left. He has been accused of using his billions to foment violence, support “white genocide,” and pay migrants to seek asylum in the United States. Right-wing media personalities have described him as working to hijack our democracy and undermine sovereignty. Left-leaning outlets, meanwhile, have suggested that his philanthropy is a distraction from the economic misery he himself has made. But who is George Soros? How did he make his money? What causes does he actually support? How did this billionaire become the right’s favorite target—used by elected officials sympathetic to the idea that their country’s opposition can be blamed on one man in the endless messaging war? How much of the hatred is driven by rising antisemitism? Though his name appears often in the media, most people know little about Soros. Weaving biography, cultural commentary, and investigative reporting, Emily Tamkin brings into focus the man and his myth to examine how much influence he actually has on politics. Is Soros simply a left-wing version of the Koch brothers? Or is he genuinely trying to make the world a better place? The Influence of Soros offers an understanding of the man and his money, his contributions and donations, and his true sway over our politics, elections, and our societies. Ultimately, Tamkin asks, can a truly open society exist if any one man can have the kind of power Soros wields?
Download or read book The Poverty of Historicism written by Karl Popper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On its publication in 1957, The Poverty of Historicism was hailed by Arthur Koestler as 'probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century.' A devastating criticism of fixed and predictable laws in history, Popper dedicated the book to all those 'who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.' Short and beautifully written, it has inspired generations of readers, intellectuals and policy makers. One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.
Download or read book The Open Society and Its Animals written by Janneke Vink and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-10 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an interdisciplinary study centred on the political and legal position of animals in liberal democracies. With due concern for both animals and the sustainability of liberal democracies, The Open Society and Its Animals seeks to redefine animals’ political-legal position in the most successful political model of our time. Advancements in modern science point out that many animals are sentient and that, like humans, they have certain elementary interests. The revised perception of animals as beings with elementary interests raises questions concerning the liberal democratic institutional framework: does a liberal democracy have a responsibility towards the animals on its territory, and if so, what kind? Do animals need legal animal rights and lawyers to represent them in court, and should they also be represented in parliament? And how much change of this kind could a liberal democracy really endure? Vink addresses these and other pressing questions relating to the political and legal position of animals in this persuasive and authoritative work, compelling us to reconsider the relationship between the open society and the animals in it.
Download or read book Transparency and the Open Society written by Taylor, Roger and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2016-06-20 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using case studies from around the world, Transparency and the open society surveys the adoption of transparency globally, providing an essential framework for assessing its likely performance as a policy and the steps that can be taken to make it more effective.
Download or read book The Open Society and Its Complexities written by Gerald Gaus and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-06 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mere two decades ago it was widely assumed that liberal democracy and the Open Society it created had decisively won their century-long struggle against authoritarianism. Although subsequent events have shocked many, F.A. Hayek would not have been surprised that we are in many ways disoriented by the society we have created. As he understood it, the Open Society was a precarious achievement in many ways at odds with our deepest moral sentiments. His path-breaking analyses argued that the Open Society runs against our evolved attraction to "tribalism" that the Open Society is too complex for moral justification; and that its self-organized complexity defies attempts at democratic governance. In his final, wide-ranging book, Gerald Gaus critically reexamines Hayek's analyses. Drawing on diverse work in social and moral science, Gaus argues that Hayek's program was manifestly prescient and strikingly sophisticated, always identifying real and pressing problems. Yet, Gaus maintains, Hayek underestimated the resources of human morality and the Open Society to cope with the challenges he perceived. Gaus marshals formal models and empirical evidence to show that our Open Society is grounded on moral foundations of human cooperation originating in our distant evolutionary past, but has built upon them a complex and diverse society that requires us to rethink both the nature of moral justification and the meaning of democratic self-governance. In these fearful, angry and inwardly-looking times, when political philosophy has itself become a hostile exchange between ideological camps, The Open Society and Its Complexities shows how moral and ideological diversity, so far from being the enemy of a free and open society, can be its foundation.
Download or read book Unended Quest written by Karl Popper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-09-29 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the age of eight, Karl Popper was puzzling over the idea of infinity and by fifteen was beginning to take a keen interest in his father's well-stocked library of books. Unended Quest recounts these moments and many others in the life of one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century, providing an indispensable account of the ideas that influenced him most. As an introduction to Popper's philosophy, Unended Quest also shines. Popper lucidly explains the central ideas in his work, making this book ideal for anyone coming to Popper's life and work for the first time.
Download or read book The Philanthropy of George Soros written by Chuck Sudetic and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2011-05-10 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With an Introduction by George Soros and an Afterword by Aryeh Neier George Soros is one of the world's leading philanthropists. Over the past thirty years, he has provided more than 8 billion to his worldwide network of foundations: the Open Society Foundations, which have applied the concept of the open society, the cornerstone of Soros's thinking on democracy, freedom, and human rights, in the United States and abroad. This book, written by former New York Times journalist Chuck Sudetic, marks the first exploration of George Soros's innovative philanthropic strategies and unmatched commitment to building open societies in places where dictatorship and violent repression have been the rule for too long. Soros is widely lauded for his brilliant financial and economic insights and investment strategies. But his philosophy-driven philanthropy and its impact are unprecedented for a private individual, and have produced remarkable results. Soros's visionary efforts include: helping to topple communism in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and attempting to foster civil society in China initiating and nurturing global and local organizations fighting to overcome the driver of war, repression, and corruption in oil- and blood-diamond states helping Sarajevo's people endure three years of siege during the Bosnian War fighting resistant strains of TB in Russia's jails and Lesotho's mountains before the disease can devastate the world's great cities undertaking the first attempt in history to help Europe's most downtrodden people lift themselves from poverty and segregation supporting democratic resistance in Burma and building communities in Haiti's roughest slums applying new methods for fighting poverty and drug addiction and reforming dysfunctional justice systems in Baltimore, New Orleans, and other U.S. cities. The Philanthropy of George Soros reveals the thought and practice behind a lesser-known dimension of this remarkable man's life, his goals for society, and his underlying vision for the future.
Download or read book The Wall and the Gate written by Michael Sfard and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2018-01-23 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A farmer from a village in the occupied West Bank, cut off from his olive groves by the construction of Israel’s controversial separation wall, asked Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard to petition the courts to allow a gate to be built in the wall. While the gate would provide immediate relief for the farmer, would it not also confer legitimacy on the wall and on the court that deems it legal? The defense of human rights is often marked by such ethical dilemmas, which are especially acute in Israel, where lawyers have for decades sought redress for the abuse of Palestinian rights in the country’s High Court―that is, in the court of the abuser. [This book] chronicles this struggle―a story that has never before been fully told― and in the process engages the core principles of human rights legal ethics. [The author] recounts the unfolding of key cases and issues, ranging from confiscation of land, deportations, the creation of settlements, punitive home demolitions, torture, and targeted killings―all actions considered violations of international law. In the process, he lays bare the reality of the occupation and the lives of the people who must contend with that reality. He also exposes the surreal legal structures that have been erected to put a stamp of lawfulness on an extensive program of dispossession. Finally, he weighs the success of the legal effort, reaching conclusions that are no less paradoxical than the fight itself."--
Download or read book Lying in State written by Eric Alterman and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This definitive history of presidential lying reveals how our standards for truthfulness have eroded -- and why Trump's lies are especially dangerous. If there's one thing we know about Donald Trump, it's that he lies. But he's by no means the first president to do so. In Lying in State, Eric Alterman asks how we ended up with such a pathologically dishonest commander in chief, showing that, from early on, the United States has persistently expanded its power and hegemony on the basis of presidential lies. He also reveals the cumulative effect of this deception-each lie a president tells makes it more acceptable for subsequent presidents to lie-and the media's complicity in spreading misinformation. Donald Trump, then, represents not an aberration but the culmination of an age-old trend. Full of vivid historical examples and trenchant analysis, Lying in State is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how we arrived in this age of alternative facts.
Download or read book The Law of Open Societies written by Jürgen Basedow and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-06-02 with total page 662 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book endeavours to interpret the development of private international law in light of social change. Since the end of World War II the socio-economic reality of international relations has been characterised by a progressive move from closed to open societies. The dominant feature of our time is the opening of borders for individuals, goods, services, capital and data. It is reflected in the growing importance of ex ante planning – as compared with ex post adjudication – of cross-border relations between individuals and companies. What has ensued is a shift in the forces that shape international relations from states to private actors. The book focuses on various forms of private ordering for economic and societal relations, and its increasing significance, while also analysing the role of the remaining regulatory powers of the states involved. These changes stand out more distinctly by virtue of the comparative treatment of the law and the long-term perspective employed by the author. The text is a revised and updated version of the lectures given by the author during the 2012 summer courses of the Hague Academy of International Law.
Download or read book Must Politics be War written by Kevin Vallier and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American politics seems like a war between irreconcilable forces and so we may suspect that political life as such is war. This book confronts these suspicions by arguing that liberal political institutions have the unique capacity to sustain social trust in diverse, open societies, undermining aggressive political partisanship.
Download or read book Open Society and Its Enemies Volume 2 written by Karl Raimund Popper and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. In the book, Popper condemned Plato, Marx, and Hegel as "holists" and "historicists"--a holist, according to Popper, believes that individuals are formed entirely by their social groups; historicists believe that social groups evolve according to internal principles that it is the intellectual's task to uncover. Popper, by contrast, held that social affairs are unpredictable, and argued vehemently against social engineering. He also sought to shift the focus of political philosophy away from questions about who ought to rule toward questions about how to minimize the damage done by the powerful. The book was an immediate sensation, and--though it has long been criticized for its portrayals of Plato, Marx, and Hegel--it has remained a landmark on the left and right alike for its defense of freedom and the spirit of critical inquiry.
Download or read book War is Only Half the Story written by Sara Terry and published by . This book was released on 2018-01-18 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "War is Only Half the Story" is a ten-year retrospective of the work of the groundbreaking documentary photography program, The Aftermath Project, which for a decade has supported post-conflict storytelling by some of the world's best photographers. As a grant-making educational non-profit, The Aftermath Project was founded to help change the way the media covers conflict - and to educate the public about the true cost of war and the real price of peace.Using the post-conflict poetry of Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska as themes for each chapter, "War is Only Half the Story" draws on the work of 53 Aftermath Project grant winners and finalists from around the world to explore post-conflict stories that all too often go untold.
