In this Episode I address the question of whether populism poses a danger to a democratic, open society. I define populism as charismatic leadership with a particular vision. I make a distinction between a democratic regime - with emphasis on the rule of law, the independence of institutions and freedom - and an open society - with the emphasis on accountability, contestability and critical scrutiny of political affairs, established traditions and figures in authority. I argue that it is important to uphold a ope and democratic society because of the fallibility of all political visions.

Literature:

The classic sources on the open society are:

Bergson, H.:  The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1935; Osmania University Library, Internet Source) Popper, K. R.: The Open Society and Its Enemies. Volume I: Plato. (London: Routledge 1945, 1966) Volume II: Hegel & Marx. (London: Routledge 1945, 1962)

Good books on populism are:

Mounk, Y.: The People vs. Democracy: Why our Freedom is in Danger & How to Save it. (Harvard University Press 2018)

Müller, J.W.: What is Populism? (Penguin Books 2017)

Weyland, K.: Democracy’s Resilience to Populism’s Threat. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2024

I have published a review article on this whole question:Weinert, F.: ‘The Open Society Revisited’, in: Social Sciences  2025, 14 (3), 118; ⁠https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030118

On the notion of trust, you may consult my paper:

Weinert, F.: ‘The Role of Trust in Political Systems. A Philosophical Perspective.’ Open Political Science 1 (2018): 7-15