Thoth distribution@thoth.pub 20260401T131326

urn:uuid:31c3574f-029d-4433-97e3-cc04cfc90837 03 01 01 urn:uuid:31c3574f-029d-4433-97e3-cc04cfc90837 15 9781911712275 06 10.31389/lsepress.ose 00 EB E107 10 Creative Commons License 02 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 01 01 The Open Society as an Enemy A Critique of How Free Societies Turned Against Themselves 1 A01 J. McKenzie Alexander 01 eng 00 359 03 04 B 10 PHI034000 93 QDTS 93 JPA 10 POL007000 93 JBS 03 00 Nearly 80 years ago, Karl Popper gave a spirited philosophical defence of the Open Society in his two-volume work, The Open Society and Its Enemies. In this book, J. McKenzie Alexander argues that a new defence is urgently needed because, in the decades since the end of the Cold War, many of the values of the Open Society¬ have come under threat once again. Populist agendas on both the left and right threaten to undermine fundamental principles that underpin liberal democracies, so that what were previously seen as virtues of the Open Society are now, by many people, seen as vices, dangers, or threats. The Open Society as an Enemy interrogates four interconnected aspects of the Open Society: cosmopolitanism, transparency, the free exchange of ideas, and communitarianism. Each of these is analysed in depth, drawing out the implications for contemporary social questions such as the free movement of people, the erosion of privacy, no-platforming and the increased political and social polarisation that is fuelled by social media.In re-examining the consequences for all of us of these attacks on free societies, Alexander calls for resistance to the forces of reaction. But he also calls for the concept of the Open Society to be rehabilitated and advanced. In doing this, he argues, there is an opportunity to re-think the kind of society we want to create, and to ensure it is achievable and sustainable. This forensic defence of the core principles of the Open Society is an essential read for anyone wishing to understand some of the powerful social currents that have engulfed public debates in recent years, and what to do about them. 04 00 Introduction Part I: Don’t come around here no more The cosmopolitan conception of the Open Society 1. Consider the wall 2. You should have picked different parents 3. The room where it happens 4. Go your own way 5. It’s the economy, stupid 6. Nowhere, man 7. Concluding remarks Part II: The panopticon of the soul The transparent conception of the Open Society 8. The book of life 9. Unwanted inferences 10. Lifting the veil 11. Letting it all hang out 12. Don’t you forget about me 13. Returning to the past 14. We’ll be watching you 15. Concluding remarks Part III: Safe spaces The Enlightenment conception of the Open Society 16. Generation Wuss? 17. Trigger warnings 18. Safe spaces 19. No-platforming 20. Concluding remarks Part IV: Modern tribes The communitarian conception of the Open Society 21. Joshua’s question 22. On polarisation 23. Social identity, in-group bias, and norms 24. The psychology of modern tribes 25. Authenticity and the WINOs 26. Intersectionality 27. Epistemic closure and extreme groups 28. The collision of horizons 29. Concluding remarks We can work it out 20 00 Open Access LSE Press 01 LSE Press London 04 01 20241127 13 15 9781911712268 09 LSE Press 29 Publisher's website: download the title https://books.press.lse.ac.uk/10.31389/lsepress.ose.pdf 99 01 09 LSE Press 02 Publisher's website: web shop https://press.lse.ac.uk/books/m/10.31389/lsepress.ose 99 01