In Defense of Open Society
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- $32.99
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- $32.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Philanthropist Soros (The Tragedy of the European Union) offers a slim guide to his economic philosophies and the work his Open Society Foundations have done to promote democracy around the world. Collecting recent writings and speeches, Soros details his charitable network's organizational structure and describes such initiatives as providing scholarships to black students in apartheid-era South Africa; establishing a cultural foundation in his native Hungary to expose the "falsehood" of Communist Party dogma; and supporting drug policy reform and end-of-life care in the U.S. Elsewhere, he offers a detailed analysis of the 2008 financial crash and its implications for the stock market. Speaking to the current global political moment, Soros describes Facebook, Google, and other "internet monopolies," as a "menace," and contends that the European Union is facing an "existential crisis" brought about by Brexit, the refugee crisis, and austerity measures. In a speech delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2019, Soros suggests that President Trump will make concessions to China while renewing his trade war with U.S. allies. While that analysis has been undermined by recent events, his warning that the White House needs to develop a "sophisticated, detailed, and practical" plan to deal with China remains sound. This is an accessible starting point for those seeking insights into Soros's current thinking.
