LSE Philosophy Professor Jason Alexander gave an interview to talk about his new book ‘The Open Society as an Enemy’. The interview has been published in ‘Research for the World’, the research magazine of LSE.

The Open Society and its Enemies (1945), Karl Popper’s seminal defence of liberal society, sets out his vision for a just and democratic world, bolstered by openness, tolerance and critical thinking. Nearly 80 years on, however, with no-platforming, cancel culture, polarisation and populism on the rise, has today’s liberal society turned its back on the very values Popper espoused?

Professor J McKenzie Alexander, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE, believes so. His new book, The Open Society as an Enemy, published by LSE Press, examines four interconnected themes related to ideals championed by Popper – cosmopolitanism, transparency, the free exchange of ideas, and communitarianism. The book sets out some of the challenges we face today, and defends the value of the Open Society in our fractious times.

About the magazine

LSE’s research spans all the social sciences, from economics, politics and law to cities, health policy, human rights and inequality. In the online magazine ‘Research for the World’, LSE is publishing the many ways the School’s academics are helping to shape the world’s political, economic and social future, with articles on new projects, research findings and other LSE news.