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Over the past six years, the whole world had been ravaged by war. Millions abandoned their professions so as to take part in it. Whole governments devoted their entire resources to it. Millions of people had been displaced. However, with the Russian army lacing its way into the heart of Berlin, it finally seemed like it was coming to an end.

For Karl Popper, it was another day in his study. He had lived in New Zealand from 1937 up to the present day. He emigrated there so as to escape the Nazis, taking a philosophy lectureship at Canterbury University College in Christchurch. The Nazis repelled him ideologically, but he was also imperilled due to his Jewish descent. He used this time to write The Open Society and its Enemies. In many ways, it was his war-time contribution.

Popper scrutinised the papers on his desk, underlining salient words. He touched his bald head and bushy eyebrows. He heard a knock on the door and he peered up at the man who scampered in. It was Professor John Carew Eccles, who had struck a most cordial relationship with him during his time in this institution. He was a neuroscientist who argued that the mind and brain are distinct but interact. He had informed Popper’s own theories on the philosophy of mind.

Eccles appeared to be carrying several papers. Like Popper, he was also bald, but his thick glasses were immediately striking. At first, Popper surmised the papers to be related to his research, but as Eccles paced closer to his desk, it became clear that they were newspapers. He slung them at Popper’s desk, as he claimed: ‘Look, look.’

They were copies of the Hawke’s Bay Tribune and The Evening Star. They covered the news of the German surrender and the ending of hostilities against Nazi Germany. They honoured New Zealand military personnel like Captain C. H. Upham and Sargeant J. A. Ward. The Prime Minister Walter Nash requested that official celebrations be postponed until 1 A.M. on May 9. This is when Winston Churchill would announce peace, due to time difference. They included photographs of Winston Churchill and Stalin as well as images of the flags of the USA, the UK and the Soviet Union.

‘Hitler killed himself,’ Eccles said, simpering. ‘The war is over.’

‘Yes, I just finished my own contribution to the war,’ Popper said.

‘The Open Society and its Enemies? ’ Eccles asked.

‘Yes, I regard New Zealand as the best-governed country in the world. It allowed me to escape the war. It provided me with a sanctuary in which I could quietly formulate my ideas,’ Popper said, as he scanned all of the newspapers which Eccles had placed on his desk.

‘And what could those ideas be?’ Eccles asked, as he continued to grin.

‘It is my defence of liberal democracy, of individual freedom, against totalitarianism. I argue against historicism, that history has an ineluctable goal. I do not want to recreate society from scratch, as totalitarians do. Rather, I advocate piecemeal social engineering – small incremental reforms designed to address specific problems. I reject a top-down reconstruction of society. My vision is achieved through dialogue and democracy, but it is also achieved through trial and error. That is, I think that we should test policies, see what works and discard those that do not.’

Eccles adjusted his glasses. ‘You also defend tolerance.’

‘Yes, tolerance for me is one of the principal values,’ Popper replied. ‘We should tolerate those individuals and organisations which think differently to ourselves, as long as do not infringe on the rights of others. However, I recognise that tolerance has limits. Unlimited tolerance leads to the disappearance of tolerance. For example, we should proscribe fascist groups or political violence. If we tolerate these organisations, this would lead to the disappearance of tolerance altogether.

‘Similarly,’ Popper continued, ‘protecting freedom sometimes means restricting freedom. Freedom of the individual is a great value – we should defend the right of individuals to think and say what they want, be who they want to be and let them join any organisation that they want. However, economic regulations, for example, enhance freedom, such as clean water or preventing the sale of spoiled meat. Shorter working hours, weekends and holidays are an intervention into the economy which enhances freedom.’

‘Most interesting. However, would you not say that the open society isolates us from each other?’ Eccles asked.

‘This is one of the temptations to move away from the open society to the tribalism of the closed society,’ Popper replied.’ Demagogues and fascist movements promise greater unity. I do acknowledge that we are social creatures, but I cannot fathom why we would want to surrender intellectual independence and autonomy.

‘Indeed, I value critical thinking and democratic institutions. The closed society is authoritarian, tribal and demands conformity to a monolithic authoritarian truth.’

‘And you use Plato, Hegel and Marx as examples of thinkers who defended the closed society,’ Eccles replied.

‘Yes, Plato was an architect of totalitarianism. He betrayed Socrates’ defence of free inquiry, reason and, really, his libertarianism. He abandoned the individualistic nature of his mentor and proposed a closed and tribal model. He advocated censorship and proposed a prototypical version of eugenics which mirrors what we have seen recently in fascist Germany. Ultimately – and this is what he had in common with Hegel and Marx – he proposed a form of historicism. Society was progressing towards the horrendous utopia which he promised in The Republic.

‘Meanwhile, whilst I do think that Plato and Marx both have value, I regard Hegel as a complete charlatan. He argued in favour of a form of historicism and Marx inherited this aspect of his thought. He defended state authoritarianism and nationalism and the suppression of individual freedom and critical thinking. The state is an almost divine, God-like entity which oversees everything. For him, the individual meant nothing. In reality, it was obscurantist propaganda for Prussian statist nationalism, not an attempt at the scholarly pursuit of truth. His obscurantism was anti-rationalist, no matter how much he liked to prattle about “reason.”

‘Finally, there is Marx. He also believed that history followed deterministic laws – and that these were leading towards communism. His followers were convinced that capitalism would collapse, but living standards have increased in capitalist countries since his death. Wages have gone up, we have more labour laws and we work fewer hours. However, his followers disregard this evidence. It is, like Freud, an unfalsifiable theory. You present them with so much evidence that contradicts their hypotheses, but they cannot let it challenge their dogmas. Finally, there is this focus on class struggle and there is little regard for the individual. I do not doubt that Marx genuinely cared about the plight of the downtrodden of his time, but he was wrong about many things,’ Popper perorated.

‘And what about the future of Europe? The was has just ended,’ Eccles said.

‘Yes, the war has ended. We cannot repeat this again. Hopefully we can establish institutions which can prevent another European war. We need to defend the values of the open society. Hopefully Germany can become civilised. Although, the threat of fascism appears to have been vanquished, Soviet communism is still a grave threat to freedom and democracy,’ Popper replied.

‘And will you stay here in New Zealand,’ Eccles asked, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses.

‘Well, we’ll see. Now that the war is over, I might be able to return to Europe. If I get offers at an English or continental universities, I might accept them,’ Popper said, as he continued to leaf through the newspapers.

Eccles grimaced. ‘Well, best of luck.’