ABSTRACT
Inspired by the critical rationalist theory of human action, this chapter presents a sociological conception of the open society. To this end, it offers three arguments: (a) an explanation of how the critical rationalist model of action leads to defining the problem of open social order, (b) an application of the proposed micro-foundation for injecting “a social meaning” to the idea of an open society and (c) a differentiation of the sociological idea of an open society from Popper’s idea of an open society. Briefly, this chapter provides a new definition for the idea of an open society on the basis of the critical rationalist model of action. In this account of the open society, the highest level of critical rationality is linked to a moral consensus regarding the meaning of the good life to provide a normative solution to the problem of social order. In addition, the highest level of critical rationality is related to the question of how the moral consensus could be connected with a set of social institutions of law, polity and economy to make the rise of an open society possible. The open society is defined as a “rational society” because its values and institutions are held open to criticism to see whether they are shown to be false by negative reasons.
