Can't agree with your glowing assessment of Solzhenitzyn. He never actually understood individual freedom. I'm sure he would be totally aghast at Free Republic.
BUMP!
"Can't agree with your glowing assessment of Solzhenitzyn. He never actually understood individual freedom. I'm sure he would be totally aghast at Free Republic."
On the contrary, Solzhenitsyn understood very well that individual freedom, untempered by any moral standards, does not lead to an optimum society, or to a civilization which can endure. Just because the Soviet Union is gone does not mean the West is in the clear, as some fools like GHW Bush thought. Today's Russia, China, and Islam are threats every bit as deadly as the old Soviet Union. Atheistic hedonism is not going to keep the West alive.
Unlike many FR posters, Solzhenitsyn knew the difference between conservatism and liberaltarianism.
Something isn't quite right with this historic address. While I would not dismiss entirely his criticisms of the West, he clearly sees the cup as half-empty. I could also have done without the boilerplate criticism of big business -- though I certainly have been a critic of big business myself.
There is a lot to criticize in the West. But the baby oughtn't be thrown out with the bathwater.
And, of course, his rooting out the cause of our troubles as atheistic humanism is undeniably accurate.