Ka l
Poppe
was
a
20th-ce tu y
philosophe
who
champio ed
ope
societies,
c itical
thi ki g,
a d
g adual
efo m
ove
utopia
political
schemes
I
1919,
a
seve tee -yea -old
stude t
i
Vie a
joi ed
a
st eet
demo st atio
o ga ized
by
you g
commu ists.
Police
ope ed
fi e
o
the
u a med
c owd,
killi g
twelve
people
a d
wou di g
doze s
mo e.
The
you g
stude t
had
e cou aged
his
f ie ds
to
ma ch
because
he
believed
that
sho t-te m
viole ce
was
a
ecessa y
step
towa d
a
i evitable
social
utopia.
Sta di g
i
the
blood-stai ed
st eet
that
afte oo ,
he
expe ie ced
a
complete
collapse
of
faith.
He
ealized
that
a
ideology
p omisi g
absolute
pe fectio
had
pushed
aside
his
mo al
judgme t
a d
led
di ectly
to
huma
sac ifice.That
stude t
was
Ka l
Poppe ,
a d
the
lesso
of
that
afte oo
stayed
with
him
fo
the
est
of
his
life.
Decades
late ,
he
summed
up
his
wa i g
i
a
si gle
obse vatio :
“Those
who
p omise
us
pa adise
o
ea th
eve
p oduced
a ythi g
but
a
hell.”
quote
cuts
th ough
political
salesma ship
a d
poi ts
to
a
epeated
t agedy
i
huma
histo y.
Whe
leade s
claim
they
have
the
pe fect
pla
fo
c eati g
a
flawless
society,
they
ofte
dema d
g eat
powe
to
put
that
pla
i to
actio .
Because
pe fectio
is
impossible
i
a
complex
wo ld,
eality
eve tually
esists
the
pla .
I stead
of
admitti g
that
thei
theo y
has
failed,
utopia
leade s
blame
huma
weak ess.
They
label
c itics
as
e emies
of
pa adise
who
must
be
sile ced,
e-educated,
o
elimi ated.The
p omise
of
ea thly
pe fectio
ca
become
a
mo al
bla k
cheque,
allowi g
immediate
c uelty
to
be
justified
i
the
ame
of
futu e
happi ess.
W iti g
i
exile
while
Eu ope
bu ed
Ka l
Poppe
published
this
obse vatio
i
his
1945
maste wo k,
The
Ope
Society
a d
Its
E emies.
i
Vie a
i
1902
to
a
Jewish
family
that
had
co ve ted
to
Luthe a ism,
Poppe
left
Aust ia
i
1937
as
fascism
sp ead
ac oss
Ce t al
Eu ope.
He
accepted
a
lectu eship
i
philosophy
at
Ca te bu y
U ive sity
College
i
Ch istchu ch,
New
Zeala d,
whe e
he
lived
i
elative
isolatio
du i g
the
Seco d
Wo ld
Wa .Poppe
desc ibed
The
Ope
Society
a d
Its
E emies
as
his
pe so al
co t ibutio
to
the
wa
effo t.
He
w ote
the
two-volume
wo k
i
his
small
office
i
Ch istchu ch
betwee
1938
a d
1943.
The
book
t ied
to
ide tify
the
i tellectual
oots
of
totalita ia ism
while
Allied
fo ces
we e
fighti g
Axis
a mies
ac oss
Eu ope
a d
Asia.I
Chapte
18
of
the
seco d
volume,
Poppe
di ectly
c iticized
utopia
social
e gi ee i g.
He
compa ed
it
with
what
he
called
“piecemeal
social
e gi ee i g.”His
mai
ta get
was
a
philosophical
t aditio
st etchi g
f om
Plato
th ough
Geo g
Wilhelm
F ied ich
Hegel
to
Ka l
Ma x.
Poppe
a gued
that
these
thi ke s
had
falle
i to
what
he
called
“histo icism”,
the
mistake
belief
that
histo y
follows
fixed
laws
towa d
a
p edete mi ed
desti atio .Whe
political
leade s
accept
histo icist
thi ki g,
they
ca
begi
to
see
huma
lives
as
expe dable
pa ts
of
some
fi al
social
st uctu e.
The
psychology
of
utopia
ty a y
Poppe ‘s
c iticism
ests
o
a
basic
idea
about
k owledge:
huma
bei gs
a e
atu ally
fallible.I
his
philosophy
of
scie ce,
Poppe
a gued
that
o
amou t
of
obse vatio
ca
p ove
a
theo y
completely
co ect,
but
o e
clea
cou te -example
ca
show
that
it
is
false.
He
believed
political
theo ies
should
be
t eated
i
a
simila
way
a d
should
emai
ope
to
testi g
a d
c iticism.Utopia
schemes
b eak
this
ule
because
they
t eat
thei
fi al
goal
as
obvious
a d
u questio able.
If
a
political
bluep i t
ca ot
be
challe ged,
it
ca ot
be
co ected
whe
it
fails.A
piecemeal
efo me
i t oduces
a
small
policy
cha ge,
such
as
adjusti g
a
tax
ate
o
buildi g
a
local
cli ic.
The
esults
ca
the
be
measu ed.
If
the
policy
fails,
it
ca
be
cha ged
o
emoved
without
dest oyi g
the
whole
society.A
utopia
pla e
wo ks
i
the
opposite
way.
Because
the
goal
is
total
t a sfo matio ,
failu e
is
ofte
blamed
o
e emies,
i stitutio al
esista ce,
o
a
lack
of
commitme t.The
F e ch
Revolutio ‘s
Reig
of
Te o
i
1793
offe s
a
clea
histo ical
example.
Maximilie
Robespie e
wa ted
to
c eate
a
“Republic
of
Vi tue”
based
o
the
political
ideas
of
Jea -Jacques
Rousseau.
To
c eate
pe fect
vi tue,
Robespie e
came
to
believe
that
te o
was
ecessa y.
Thousa ds
we e
se t
to
the
guilloti e
to
defe d
a
ideal
that
existed
mai ly
i
his
mi d.Simila
patte s
appea ed
i
the
20th
ce tu y,
f om
Stali ‘s
fo ced
collectivizatio
du i g
the
Five-Yea
Pla s
to
the
Khme
Rouge’s
attempt
to
c eate
a
ag a ia
socialist
state
i
Cambodia,
whe e
a
estimated
two
millio
people
died
betwee
1975
a d
1979.
Messy
imp oveme ts
ove
total
ove hauls
Poppe ‘s
wa i g
emai s
eleva t
to
mode
i stitutio s,
public
policy,
a d
tech ology.I
co po ate
ma ageme t
a d
Silico
Valley
compa ies,
fou de s
ofte
use
g a d
missio
stateme ts
about
cha gi g
society
o
c eati g
f ictio -f ee
eco omies.
Whe
platfo m
algo ithms
desig ed
to
i c ease
use
e gageme t
e d
up
sp eadi g
political
ext emism
o
ha mi g
you g
people’s
me tal
health,
executives
may
co ti ue
defe di g
the
la ge
visio
i stead
of
deali g
with
the
immediate
damage.The
tech ology
i dust y’s
desi e
fo
total
dis uptio
ca
esemble
the
utopia
mi dset
Poppe
wa ed
about:
putti g
a
imagi ed
futu e
ahead
of
people’s
eeds
a d
wellbei g
today.I
gove me t,
the
quote
offe s
a
useful
way
to
judge
political
p omises.
Ca didates
who
p omise
complete
ove hauls
of
complicated
systems,
whethe
healthca e,
e e gy,
o
i te atio al
t ade,
ca
u de estimate
the
u expected
effects
of
apid,
top-dow
cha ge.Good
leade ship
equi es
accepti g
that
society
is
too
complicated
fo
o e
pe so
o
o e
autho ity
to
co t ol
th ough
a
g a d
desig .I
a
1989
i te view
published
i
Le
Mo de,
Poppe
agai
a gued
that
political
actio
should
focus
o
educi g
eal
suffe i g
athe
tha
t yi g
to
c eate
pe fect
happi ess.”Wo k
fo
the
elimi atio
of
co c ete
evils
athe
tha
fo
the
ealizatio
of
abst act
goods,”
Poppe
i sisted.
“Do
ot
aim
at
establishi g
happi ess
by
political
mea s.
Rathe
aim
at
the
elimi atio
of
co c ete
mise ies.”By
ejecti g
p omises
of
total
pe fectio ,
ope
societies
p otect
people’s
ight
to
c iticize
thei
leade s,
co ect
mistakes
th ough
peaceful
electio s,
a d
make
small,
measu able
imp oveme ts
without
dest oyi g
the
whole
system
to
fix
a
p oblem.