The Poverty of Historicism

On its publication in 1957, The Poverty of Historicism was hailed by Arthur Koestler as 'probably the only book published this year which will outlive the century.' A devastating criticism of fixed and predictable laws in history, Popper dedicated the book to all those 'who fell victim to the fascist and communist belief in Inexorable Laws of Historical Destiny.' Short and beautifully written, it has inspired generations of readers, intellectuals and policy makers. One of the most important books on the social sciences since the Second World War, it is a searing insight into the ideas of this great thinker.

User reviews

LibraryThing member RobertP

I'm no philosopher, nor have I training in that respect. That said, this work is a small book that is quite comprehensible to the layman. It gives powerful arguments against "historicism", the sense that history is moving in a provable direction and that activists can help it get there. This is -

to me - a horrid thing, as it inevitably will lead to forcing the path of history, and God help anyone in the way. Think of communism and the resultant death toll. Popper believes in small, testable steps of human progress - a pension plan here, some urban planning there. This to me is doable, sensible, and completely congruent with a democratic society. I instinctively liked Popper and his philosophy. Highly recommended read.

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LibraryThing member thcson

Popper's book on historicism has sustained a surprising popularity considering the fact that its key theoretical concepts - such as "piecemeal social engineering" and "historicism" itself - have been all but ignored in subsequent social theory. Perhaps Popper's exceptional lucidity has compensated

for it's lack of contemporary relevance. Popper paints a picture of historicism as a doctrine which is part anti-naturalistic (social phenomena cannot be studied with the same methods as natural science) and part pro naturalistic (general "historical laws" are applicable to all ages). He proceeds to refute the doctrine on both accounts.

Popper's description of historicism is far too self-contained because he hardly even mentions any actual representatives of this school of thought. It's obvious that it includes Comte, Marx and Mill, but who else? In the end I think Popper is mostly just peddling his own philosophy of social science here rather than engaging with other people's ideas. It's a short book which is worth reading but I found much more depth and insight in The Open Society and It's Enemies.

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LibraryThing member KidSisyphus

I'm going to rub my two brain cells together this weekend and see if I can't write something meaningful about this thing.

LibraryThing member lucybrown

Dedicated to those who lost their lives to Fascism, Popper's treatise examines the failure and inherent oppression of historicism applied. This along with his Open Society and its Enemies are among the most important works of 20th century political philosophy. Today's proponents historicism would

do well to read it.

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LibraryThing member lucybrown

do well to read it.

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LibraryThing member lucybrown

do well to read it.

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LibraryThing member georgee53

A classic critique of the notion that there are laws of history unfolding as we exist and that they are discoverable by primates like Homo Sapiens.

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