Misconceptions play a prominent role in my view of the world. - George Soros

The war in Iraq was misconceived from start to finish — if it has a finish. It is a war of choice, not of necessity, as President Bush claims. It goes without saying that Saddam was a tyrant, and it is good to be rid of him. But in invading Iraq as we did, without a second UN resolution, we violated international law. By mistreating and even torturing prisoners, we violated the Geneva conventions. President Bush has boasted that we do not need a permission slip from the international community, but our disregard for international law has endangered our security, particularly the security of our troops.

The war on terror as defined by President Bush is a one-dimensional presentation of reality. We cannot fight terrorism by military means alone. We can use military force only when we have a known target; but it is the habit of terrorists to keep their whereabouts hidden. To track them down we need the support of the populations amongst whom they hide. Offense is not necessarily the best defense if it offends those whose allegiance we need.

A teljesség kedvéért meg kell említenem, hogy az emberi bizonytalansági elven alapuló teóriák szintén hibásak, különben érvénytelenítenék magát az elvet. A teória lényegéből fakadó hiba az, hogy nem eredményez határozott előfeltevéseket. Ami a determinista teóriáknál mégis közelebb hozza ezeket az elveket a valóság megjelenítéséhez, az nem más, mint a hibás állításoktól való távolságtartás, valamint a nyitottság a gyakorlat tükrében való módosításokra. A nyílt társadalmak nyitottabbak a fejlesztésekre, mint a zárt társadalmak.