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[https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3077236-warning-to-the-west Warning to the West] on communism
[https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3077236-warning-to-the-west Warning to the West] on communism
Solzhenitsyn, the West, and the New Russian Nationalism
[https://dialektika.org/en/2018/12/10/alexander-solzhenitsyn-quotes-books/ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: a contradictory life (and famous quotes)]
Despite being regarded as one of the symbols of the condemnation of Stalinist totalitarianism, there is also in the vast work of Solzhenitsyn moments of criticism against Western democracy.
There is also his famous speech at Harvard on June 8, 1978. There he defines his ideas on the development of the West about culture, philosophy, politics and specific cases such as the so-called Third World:
In that speech [at Harvard], he criticizes the two central contending systems during the Cold War: Communism and Western Capitalism. His argument centers on what he calls “despiritualized and irreligious humanistic consciousness.” The problem, according to Solzhenitsyn, lies in the predominance of these forces at the base of all modern societies.


==Quotes==
==Quotes==
[https://dialektika.org/en/2018/12/10/alexander-solzhenitsyn-quotes-books/ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: a contradictory life (and famous quotes)]
[https://dialektika.org/en/2018/12/10/alexander-solzhenitsyn-quotes-books/ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: a contradictory life (and famous quotes)]<br>
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn#Interview_with_Joseph_Pearce,_Sr._(2003) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Wikiquote]<br>
[https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/art/an-interview-with-alexander-solzhenitsyn.html An Interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn]


“Western democracy is going through a serious crisis.”
“Western democracy is going through a serious crisis.”
Despite being regarded as one of the symbols of the condemnation of Stalinist totalitarianism, there is also in the vast work of Solzhenitsyn moments of criticism against Western democracy.
There is also his famous speech at Harvard on June 8, 1978. There he defines his ideas on the development of the West about culture, philosophy, politics and specific cases such as the so-called Third World:


"There is this belief that all those other worlds are only being temporarily prevented (by wicked governments or by heavy crises or by their barbarity and incomprehension) from taking the way of Western pluralistic democracy and from adopting the Western way of life. Countries are judged on the merit of their progress in this direction. However, it is a conception, which develops out of Western incomprehension of the essence of other worlds, out of the mistake of measuring them all with a Western yardstick. The real picture of our planet’s development is quite different…"
"There is this belief that all those other worlds are only being temporarily prevented (by wicked governments or by heavy crises or by their barbarity and incomprehension) from taking the way of Western pluralistic democracy and from adopting the Western way of life. Countries are judged on the merit of their progress in this direction. However, it is a conception, which develops out of Western incomprehension of the essence of other worlds, out of the mistake of measuring them all with a Western yardstick. The real picture of our planet’s development is quite different…"


"It is increasingly less likely that the Western lifestyle will become the model to follow. There are important warnings from history for a society threatened with death."
"It is increasingly less likely that the Western lifestyle will become the model to follow. There are important warnings from history for a society threatened with death."
In that speech [at Harvard], he criticizes the two central contending systems during the Cold War: Communism and Western Capitalism. His argument centers on what he calls “despiritualized and irreligious humanistic consciousness.” The problem, according to Solzhenitsyn, lies in the predominance of these forces at the base of all modern societies.


"To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging everything on earth — imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects. We are now experiencing the consequences of mistakes which had not been noticed at the beginning of the journey. On the way from the Renaissance to our days, we have enriched our experience, but we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility."
"To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging everything on earth — imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects. We are now experiencing the consequences of mistakes which had not been noticed at the beginning of the journey. On the way from the Renaissance to our days, we have enriched our experience, but we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility."
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn#Interview_with_Joseph_Pearce,_Sr._(2003) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Wikiquote]
Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive.
The thing is that religion itself cannot but be dynamic which is why "return" is an incorrect term. A return to the forms of religion which perhaps existed a couple of centuries ago is absolutely impossible. On the contrary, in order to combat modern materialistic mores, as religion must, to fight nihilism and egotism, religion must also develop, must be flexible in its forms, and it must have a correlation with the cultural forms of the epoch. Religion always remains higher than everyday life. In order to make the elevation towards religion easier for people, religion must be able to alter its forms in relation to the consciousness of modern man.
Solzhenitsyn, the West, and the New Russian Nationalism
[https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/art/an-interview-with-alexander-solzhenitsyn.html An Interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn]


"Man has set for himself the goal of conquering the world but in the processes loses his soul. That which is called humanism, but what would be more correctly called irreligious anthropocentrism, cannot yield answers to the most essential questions of our life. We have arrived at an intellectual chaos."
"Man has set for himself the goal of conquering the world but in the processes loses his soul. That which is called humanism, but what would be more correctly called irreligious anthropocentrism, cannot yield answers to the most essential questions of our life. We have arrived at an intellectual chaos."
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