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An open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson. In such a society, the government is constantly evolving and its politics are open for criticism and change. It keeps no secrets from itself in the public sense; it is a non-authoritarian society in which all are trusted with the knowledge of all. Freedom of movement and human rights lay the foundation of an open society.In Karl Popper's definition, found in his two-volume book The Open Society and Its Enemies, he defines an "open society" as one which ensures that political leaders can be overthrown without the need for bloodshed, as opposed to a "closed society", in which a bloody revolution or coup d'état is needed to change the leaders. Democracies are examples of the "open society", whereas totalitarian dictatorships and autocratic monarchies are examples of the "closed society".
The Popperian concept of the open society stems from his philosophy of science. Since no one has the perfect knowledge on the perfect government, the next best thing is a government that is ready to change the politics it runs. An open society also has to be pluralistic and multicultural, in order to benefit from the maximum number of viewpoints possible to the given problems.
Open society advocates most often see the civil society as the engine of the evolution of the open society.
Many contemporary libertarians find the idea of the open society close to them. Their idea of a night-watchman state and an even stronger emphasis on the civil society instead of a government contrasts with Popper's original view of a liberal democracyLiberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society, such as freedom of.
See also
- Open Society InstituteThe Open Society Institute (OSI) is a coordinating body, started in early 1994, of the national Soros Foundations, especially in Eastern Europe, which spends money donated by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Open Society Institutes were forcibly s
- open systemAn open system may refer to more than one thing: In the physical sciences, an open system (system theory is a system that matter or energy can flow into and/or out of, in contrast to a closed system, which no energy or matter may enter or leave. See alsos
- Government in the sunshineGovernment in the sunshine is a political term that refers to an open government whose records are accessible to the public. Prior to the second world war most governments, even in democratic countries, were very secretive with what sorts of documents the
- Liberal democracyLiberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society, such as freedom of
- Night-watchman state
