This article presents a case study of George Soros: the financier, philanthropist, avowed enemy of both the left and the right (and sometimes both at once) who is also a target of both anti-Semitic slurs and criticism by the Israeli state. This exceptional individual has lived an exceptional life: from his birth in Hungary in the interwar period to his career as a Wall Street banker and speculator, along with his later philanthropic activities, notably with Central European University in Budapest. His life highlights issues involved in the enduring and emerging uses of stereotypes, as well as aspects of how political and public communication operate in contemporary society. The employment of such diverse and contradictory stereotypes in relation to one individual calls the very concept of stereotype into question.
Keywords
- stereotypes
- George Soros
- financier
- philanthropist
- “Jew”
- Central European University
- Open Society