The world order that prevailed since the end of World War II has come to an end with the collapse of the Soviet empire, Soros wrote in an essay in 1993, and so a new conceptual framework is needed to understand the current situation, one that considers not only relationships between states but also relationships within states.
The conceptual framework Soros was referring to was the concept of open and closed societies. As we all know, Soros has been promoting open societies and launched the Open Society Foundations in 1993 to this end. Using the word “open” is misleading. Soros’ concept of open society is not what most people think it is and not what his Foundation portrays it to be.
An open society is a dynamic system that encourages moral universalism. It contrasts with a closed society which is characterised by strict laws, moral codes or religious doctrines. The “open society” concept was first coined by French-Jewish philosopher Henri Bergson in 1932 and further developed by Austrian-born Jewish philosopher Karl Popper during World War II. Popper saw the open society as part of a historical continuum that moves from tribalism towards a system where tradition is critically examined and faces the challenge of less personal group relations....<<<Read More>>>...
