The Viennese Socrates

Benesch (political science, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA) distills over twenty years of research and writing about Karl Popper's political and philosophical pre-occupations. Popper's progressive political philosophy and commitment to Socratic fallibilism are examined in the context of his engagement with Marxism. Topics explored include Popper's criticism of Marx's scientific socialism and extrapolation of scientific laws in history, elements of Marx's post-capitalist vision and critique of political economy that Popper did not fully address, the Hegelian roots of right-wing totalitarianism and Popper's attack of them in his Open Society and Its Enemies, how Popper's antipositivist epistemology informed his appreciation for sociological and historical insights, the moral disintegrity of an increasingly "abstract" society, misrepresentations by Popper's critics like Adorno and Habermas, Socratic interrogation of democracy and politics as an open science, Popper's commitment to the rule of law, and cosmopolitan human rights. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Philip Benesch is Associate Professor of Political Science at Lebanon Valley College, Pennsylvania. He has also taught at Bryn Mawr College, West Chester University, and at colleges in London. He received his PhD in political science from the University of Delaware and his MA from the London School of Economics.