Central European University Press The Paradoxes of Unintended Consequences

This volume of essays is dedicated to George Soros in honor of his seventieth birthday. The authors come from the different but intersecting worlds of academia, politics and business. The editors have chosen the title The Paradoxes of Unintended Consequences to encourage the contributors to adopt a dialogue-oriented approach and in reference to the example of Giordano Bruno, who was burnt at the stake 400 years ago for holding heretic views which were probably far more backward than the views of those condemning him. The idea behind this approach was that any complex social process or political attempt to change the lives of people will have unintended consequences, usually paradoxical ones. These consequences should force us to reconsider our original theory. The volume also contains a short biography of George Soros and a list of his published works and philanthropic initiatives. About the Author Yehuda Elkana (1934–2012) was historian and philosopher of science, former President and Rector of Central European University (1999–2009). Aryeh Neier is an American human rights activist. He was the president of the Open Society Institute and a founder of Human Rights Watch. William Newton-Smith is Fellow & Tutor in Philosophy, Balliol College, University of Oxford; Chairman at the Higher Education Support Program, Open Society Institute, Budapest. Istvan Rev is the Director of the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives and Professor at the Department of History.