Synopsis
A methodological argument that the social sciences cannot predict the future course of history because the growth of knowledge itself is unpredictable.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workSince we cannot foresee future knowledge, and knowledge shapes history, no theory can predict where history is ultimately headed.
It refutes the dream of a science that forecasts humanity's destiny, undercutting any politics built on inevitable historical laws.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Marx, German Ideology.
Reading note
Read it as the compact methodological companion to Popper's larger political works, focused tightly on the logic of prediction.
Best paired with
Marx, German Ideology