ABSTRACT
I was lucky enough to be taught by Karl Popper, and also to work, \\ith him as his assistant for some eight years, between 1971 and 1979. While I gained immensely from this experience, I do not claim, by virtue of this, a privileged position for my interpretation of his views. In addition, any reader of Popper will be familiar with his argument that philosophers have sometimes been betrayed by those who were close to them. This was his view of the relationship between Socrates and Plato, and also between Kant and Fichte.! I am, accordingly, acutely aware of the fact that were Popper still \\ith us, he might well see my work in the same light; not least because, as the reader will discover, I wish to argue that Popper's work has consequences in the political realm which are suggestive of views which are different from those which Popper himself espoused, especially as a young man.
