Valuing Diversity Without Illusions

The Anti-Utopian Agonism of Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies

Bibliographic Data

ID3971137
AuthorsChris Royer (0000-0002-9441-8824, Central European University, corresponding author), Christof Royer (Open Society Research Platform, Central European University, Quellenstraße 55, 1100 Vienna, Austria)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue5
Pages463-481
Publication date2023-07-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe European Legacy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1084-8770 • E-ISSN: 1470-1316
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10848770.2023.2184758
OpenAlexW4323364824
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

This article offers a novel interpretation of Karl Popper’s influential yet controversial book, The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945). Popper, it argues, sheds light on a pivotal social and political question: How can we value genuine human plurality without succumbing to the illusion that enmity can be removed from the socio-political realm? What we find in Popper, I argue, is an “anti-utopian agonism,” that is, his conception of an open society harbors significant agonistic elements-a commitment to human plurality, an endorsement of (some) social and political struggles, and an acute awareness of the tragic dimensions of political life. Simultaneously, Popper’s distinctive anti-utopianism makes an important contribution to agonistic theory on two fronts. First, his concept of “the strain of civilization” reveals a deeper notion of tragedy, which gives him the edge over the rather shallow notion of tragedy we find in the agonistic tradition. Secondly, he develops a tripartite notion of enmity, which is theoretically interesting and practically relevant. The aim of this article is not only to contribute to the scholarship on Popper and agonism but, first and foremost, to demonstrate how The Open Society still matters as an inspiring work that illuminates the practically relevant question of how to value diversity without illusions

Agonism · Agonistic behaviour · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Tragedy (event · Value (mathematics · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics · Psychology · Social Psychology

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