The political philosophy of Karl Popper

Few thinkers of the twentieth century have defended democracy and rational thought as passionately as Karl Popper (1902–1994). Born in Vienna, Popper witnessed the rise of fascism and totalitarianism firsthand. These experiences shaped his lifelong project: to understand how open societies can survive the forces that threaten to close them.

Popper’s political philosophy is rooted in a simple but radical insight: no one is infallible. Because human knowledge is always provisional and subject to error, no individual or ideology should ever hold unquestioned power. From this idea flows his defense of democracy — not as the rule of the majority or the will of “the people,” but as a system for peacefully correcting mistakes. As he famously put it, the key political question is not “Who should rule?” but “How can we get rid of bad rulers without bloodshed?”

To explore Poppers political philosophy, we will read chapter 7 “the principle of leadership” from his magnum opus, The Open Society and Its Enemies, as well as his short essay Utopia and violence.

The principle of leadership can be read through the link below on pages 114 – 129. When reading, also look at his 4th note to chapter 7, where he discusses his term “the paradox of tolerance”. The note can be found on page 581. https://tinyurl.com/opensoci

Utopia and Violence can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/utopiaand

Join us in discussing Popper and his views on tolerance, democracy and how to create a society without violence. Everyone is welcome =)