Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Open Society Needs Defending

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Argument from George Soros to the effect that, yes, the open society needs defending. "Open societies are in crisis," he writes, "and various forms of closed societies – from fascist dictatorships to mafia states – are on the rise." A bit sgtrong but we'll accept thes. He then asks, "How could this happen? The only explanation I can find is that elected leaders failed to meet voters' legitimate expectations and aspirations and that this failure led electorates to become disenchanted with the prevailing versions of democracy and capitalism." Well, that much is true, but the prevailing institutions - including the EU, which he seeks to defend in this article - weren't showing any sign of actually meeting those legitimate expectations. How many times has the European Commission tried to sneak software patents into law, for example?

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 15, 2024 2:22 p.m.

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