Book review: Billionaire, the Philosopher King
The Open Estonia Foundation (OEF) was established in April 1990 with the support of the Hungarian-born American philanthropist George Soros. In 2007, Soros’s book “The Age of Fallibility. Consequences of the War on Terror” was translated to Estonian and published thereafter. The Estonian weekly cultural newspaper Sirp published a book review on 04/27/07.
Billionaire, the Philosopher King
Soros - the stateless statesman with a global touch / by Mikko Lagerspetz / 04/27/07
"I love to joke that the only thing I can remember is the future", writes George Soros in the foreword of his new book. As the book's subheading reveals, the majority of the book is formed by the analysis of recent events and commentaries. The book, with its latest lines written in August 2006, has been coherently translated to Estonian by Märt Väljataga and published quickly enough not to let its commentaries on current events fade away. On that note, there is something else that makes the book "The Age of Fallibility" intriguing. It offers insight to the ideas that have shaped Soros to become who he is.
That is, Soros is not extraordinary because of being a billionaire who donates money. His importance lies elsewhere: he has formed a unique philosophical outlook and created himself the opportunities to pursue it. Donations, books and public statements are all expressions of the same frame of convictions. It has urged him to create a network of institutions, and also sometimes initiated his political activism, which has at times caused aversion. The book sheds light on the political activities, too. The campaign to stop the re-election of George W. Bush, the attempts to change the drug policy of the U.S., and supporting "colored revolutions" in the former Soviet Union (such as paying a monthly salary to the ministries of the Georgian government after the revolution) are among his ventures as the global "stateless statesman". As it is commonly known, Soros's beliefs are largely based on the principle of an open society. His latest book unveils the wider philosophical, as well as biographical background.
Having experienced two different dictatorships (which the book calls "closed societies") at his native Hungary, Soros finally emigrated to the Unite States. Prior to that, a compelling period in London had passed, during which he studied economics and showed a keen interest in philosophy and especially the views of his teacher Karl Popper. Soros's conception of an ideal open society, a formation of people who are prone to innovation and capable of learning from their mistakes, stemmed from Popper's (and through him Henry Bergson's) philosophy. A special tractate "The Original Framework" at the end of the book was mostly written in 1963 and includes the reasoning behind the ideal. Soros points out that with regard to the concept of reflexivity his views differ from those of Popper's. Popper found that natural and social sciences share the methodological base, but Soros thinks that it is impossible because of reflexivity, a two-way relationship between social events and the individuals who observe them, which brings indetermination to the society as an object of study - indetermination that does not occur within the natural sciences. From this, Soros derives his postulate of radical reflexivity, which states that our knowledge of the society, including market transactions, is by its nature imperfect. This, in turn, is the very reason why successful societies need to be open to changes and feedback.
The concept of reflexivity as such is abstract and belongs to the theory of knowledge. But it links Soros the Architect of Open Society and Soros the Successful Investor. It can be observed in the financial markets how participants' interpretations of the conditions are influencing the conditions. Soros specialized to undertake his financial operations in such capital markets where the expectations of participants have created a so-called bubble that has to burst sooner or later. The secret to his success lies in his superior ability to analyze and predict such processes. Right now Soros also anticipates the blowup of a global real estate bubble, followed by the decreasing dollar value. According to his estimates, this should happen in 2007, so the readers will be able to see if his prophesy will come true. At the same time, this prophesies is naturally in itself an example of the bias that can influence the reality.
The author does not hide his disappointment with the United States, which used to be the first open society, but now seems to grow distant from the ideal. He sees signs of this development in the inadvisable expansion of executive power, limiting the freedom of citizens within the country, and violating human rights outside the country. Bush's government has done all that, using the metaphor of an anti-terrorism war as a justification. The re-election of Bush indicates that the change of course can only happen if the views of the American people change.
Keeping the society open is a way to guarantee that decisions are based on the most accurate depiction of reality. But what to do if people are not interested in he actual truth? As Soros sees it, the United States have become a consumerist "feel-good society", whose members only believe in power and economic success. Soros's critique of consumerism is reminiscent of many classical and contemporary critics of mass society.
From Soros's viewpoint, the need to change world order seems to be inevitable in order for the civilization to survive in the long run. In that he relies heavily on the European Union, which should become the prototype of a global open society as he sees it. Europe seems to be better predisposed to that than the U.S. Firstly, the European Union itself is the result of a gradual build-up, which has been open by its nature. Secondly, Soros regards the greater willingness of Europeans to cooperate internationally as well as within the society as an advantage. He also reminds us the impact that the expansion of the EU and prior negotiations have had on securing democracy in the Eastern Europe. Similar success can hardly be foreseen with regard to the latest attempts of the U.S. to export democracy with the help of military force. However, that does not mean that the EU is devoid of problems. As Soros puts it, the union should transform from an elitist project to a nationwide undertaking. But as the Europeans also live at welfare societies, they are not necessarily fascinated by the idea of an open society. Soros still hopes for a large enough enlightened group to accumulate in Europe.
Soros did not become a professional philosopher or economist, although the book demonstrates that he had the capacity for that. The theoretical discussions interact nicely with the discussions that have been held in the field of sociology since the 90s, and as an analyst of international politics, George Soros is as good as his more academic counterparts. If those ideas and analyses were presented by someone else, they would soon be shadowed by newer and up to date books. What distinguishes the "Age of Fallibility" is the way with which an abstract conceptual framework can crisscross economic theory, world politics, and an extraordinary life led by an extraordinary persona. It feels like those ideas still haven't passed up the ability to change the world.