George Soros

George Soros (born August 12, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary as Soros György) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American currency speculator and philanthropist. Currently, he is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute and is also former member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is known around the world for the role he played in Georgia's Rose Revolution. In the United States he is known for donating large sums of money in an attempt to defeat President George W. Bush's bid for reelection.

Philosophy

Despite his carefully groomed media image, Soros is a controversial figure. Although he has become extremely wealthy as an international investor and currency speculator (his fortune in 2004 was estimated at US$ 7 billion), he freely acknowledges that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries.

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One could say that Soros is primarily a philosopher, and his successes in business and philanthropy are merely an expression of his views on the world. Certainly Soros sees himself that way, having aspired to be a philosopher since childhood.

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Soros periodically has studied under and corresponded with Karl Popper. His Open Society Institute is named after Popper's two volume work, The Open Society and Its Enemies. What some consider Soros' certainty in his political beliefs ironically conflicts with the critical rationalism espoused by Popper.

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He has popularized the concepts of dynamic disequilibrium, static disequilibrium, and near-equilibrium conditions. His writings also focus heavily on the concept of reflexivity. His theories have been criticized as having been prompted in part by his ignorance of recent developments in economic theory.

Related Topics:
Dynamic disequilibrium - Static disequilibrium - Near-equilibrium conditions - Reflexivity

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Soros blames many of the world's problems on the failures inherent in market fundamentalism.

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From Victor Niederhoffer (under "external links"): "Most of all, George believed even then in a mixed economy, one with a strong central international government to correct for the excesses of self-interest. I believe in the power of the market to give consumers the quantity and quality they want in timely fashion, in the power of incentive to create a constantly increasing plenty, and in the power of competition to distribute that plenty harmoniously and bountifully to the deserving consumer."

Related Topics:
Victor Niederhoffer - Mixed economy - Government - Market - Incentive - Competition

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On ethics and business, he believes nothing is his fault. For example although he has been claimed to cause many financial collapses that harm people via his speculation, including in Eastern Europe and Thailand, among other places, he says "As a market participant, I don't need to be concerned with the consequences of my actions." (5)

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