The Open Society and Its Enemies

Questions About The Open Society and Its Enemies

by Karl Popper

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What are Karl Popper's main arguments against communism?
Kyle Willey So I think it depends on what you mean as communism.

He makes several arguments against Marx's theories (and also Engels' work) where they have been pr…moreSo I think it depends on what you mean as communism.

He makes several arguments against Marx's theories (and also Engels' work) where they have been proven to be unsubstantiated in the historical record, such as the fact that a dictatorship of the proletariat did not prove necessary to benefit the conditions of the workers in the Western world.

However, he doesn't try to indict Stalin or the Soviets more particularly like a Solzhenitsyn or Hayek would; his argument sticks largely to the philosophical points and unproven or disproven assertions made by the philosophies of collectivists and the dangerous consequences of many of their assumptions or presuppositions.

EDIT: Regarding Popper as an opponent of Communism (the modern political movement) there is perhaps more that could be said. He considers the concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat to be anti-democratic and something worthy of condemnation. However, I don't think I can properly convey his ideas without engaging in a fairly lengthy definition of the terms he uses, and I don't want to misconstrue anything that he says.(less)
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