Summary of The Poverty of Historicism

The Poverty of Historicism is a book written by Karl Popper that examines the philosophical concept of historicism, which is the belief that history itself is subject to natural laws and can be predicted by human knowledge. The book argues that historicism is a false and dangerous doctrine that leads to totalitarianism and intellectual stagnation. Popper explains that historicism is based on the assumption that there are universal laws governing the development of human society over time, and that these laws can be discovered and used to predict the future. He argues that this assumption is false, and that any attempt to predict the future based on past events is doomed to failure. Popper also warns of the dangers posed by historicism, noting that it can lead to totalitarianism and the suppression of freedom of thought.