The Open Society and Its Enemies
The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popperby Karl Popper
Shares rank 17 of 30 philosophy books by recommenders
Worth reading as a whole, since its ideas are often used and abused out of context. One commenter calls its Plato interpretation weak.
Worth reading as a whole, since its ideas are often used and abused out of context. One commenter calls its Plato interpretation weak.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Worth reading in full
“It's well worth to read as a whole, given how often it is used and abused out of its surrounding context in the book.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” “Honestly, the entire book - The Open Society and its Enemies - might be a good read.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Keep hitting US Big Tech with fines, Europe's Greens tell von der Leyen” Often used out of context
“It's well worth to read as a whole, given how often it is used and abused out of its surrounding context in the book.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weak Plato interpretation, per scholar
“from a purely Plato-scholarship/interpretation perspective, it's trash”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “The Popper Principle”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby Laozi | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Open Society and Its Enemiesby Karl PopperThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“from a purely Plato-scholarship/interpretation perspective, it's trash”
“It's well worth to read as a whole, given how often it is used and abused out of its surrounding context in the book.”
“Honestly, the entire book - The Open Society and its Enemies - might be a good read.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.