I cannot agree with the comments of the author or those of the commentators about Soros “open society.” Another famous activist in a pragmatic mode, I.e. disdaining authoritarianism, in action and reflection, was Saul Alinsky who expressed the goal of the community organizer as a “free and open society, as well as the pragmatists themselves (James, Pearce, Dewey, Rorty). “Utopian” democracy may indeed rely on imagination (including myth and fantasy), just as does the theory of everything in science, but it does not mean that it is an unworthy goal for humankind in the here and now. Maybe heaven can never be on earth, but the reign of God on earth or the beloved community is based on the capacity (evolved or created) of humanity for creativity, empathy, and continuing discovery.

Yes, there are great inconsistencies in Soros (and his use of capitalism) and Chomsky (and his anarchical approach). But their dedication to the “open society” is not one of them.