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23November2014Lastupdatedat03:44GMT

APointofView:Thewriterwhoforesawtheriseofthetotalitarian
state
The19thCenturyRussiannovelistFyodorDostoyevskywroteaboutcharacterswhojustifiedmurderinthenameof
theirideologicalbeliefs.Forthisreason,JohnGrayargues,he'sremainedrelevanteversince,throughtheriseofthe
totalitarianstatesofthe20thCentury,tothe"waragainstterror".
WhenFyodorDostoyevskydescribedinhisnovelshowideashavethepowertochangehumanlives,heknewsomethingof
whathewaswritingabout.
Bornin1821,theRussianwriterwasinhis20swhenhejoinedacircleofradicalintellectualsinStPetersburgwhowere
entrancedbyFrenchutopiansocialisttheories.Apoliceagentwhohadinfiltratedthegroupreporteditsdiscussionstothe
authorities.On22April1849,Dostoyevskywasarrestedandimprisonedalongwiththeothermembers,andaftersomemonths
ofinvestigationtheywerefoundguiltyofplanningtodistributesubversivepropagandaandcondemnedtodeathbyfiringsquad.
Thepunishmentwascommutedtoasentenceofexileandhardlabour,butthetsar'sauthoritytodecreelifeordeathwas
confirmedbyforcingtheprisonerstoundergotheordealofamockexecution.
InacarefullystagemanagedcharadeDostoyevskyandtherestofthegroupweretakenonthemorningof22December1849to
aregimentalparadeground,wherescaffoldinghadbeenerectedanddecoratedwithblackcrepe.Theircrimesandsentence
werereadoutandanOrthodoxpriestaskedthemtorepent.
Threeofthegroupweretiedtostakesinreadinessforexecution.Atthelastmomenttherewasarollofdrums,andthefiring
squadlowereditsrifles.Reprieved,theprisonerswereputinshacklesandsentintoSiberianexileinDostoyevsky'scasefor
fouryearsofhardlabour,followedbycompulsoryserviceintheRussianarmy.In1859anewtsarallowedDostoyevskytoend
hisSiberianexile.AyearlaterhewasbackintheliteraryworldofStPetersburg.
Dostoyevsky'sexperiencehadalteredhimprofoundly.HedidnotabandonhisviewthatRussiansocietyneededtoberadically
changed.Hecontinuedtobelievethattheinstitutionofserfdomwasprofoundlyimmoral,andtotheendofhislifehedetested
thelandedaristocracy.Buthisexperienceofbeingonwhathe'dbelievedwasthebrinkofdeathhadgivenhimanew
perspectiveontimeandhistory.Manyyearslaterheremarked:"IcannotrecallwhenIwaseverashappyasonthatday."
Fromthenonwardsherealisedthathumanlifewasnotamovementfromabackwardpasttoabetterfuture,ashehadbelieved
orhalfbelievedwhenhesharedtheideasoftheradicalintelligentsia.Instead,everyhumanbeingstoodateachmomentonthe
edgeofeternity.Asaresultofthisrevelation,Dostoyevskybecameincreasinglymistrustfuloftheprogressiveideologytowhich
hehadbeendrawnasayoungman.
HewasparticularlyscornfuloftheideashefoundinStPetersburgwhenhereturnedfromhisdecadeofSiberianexile.Thenew
generationofRussianintellectualswasgrippedbyEuropeantheoriesandphilosophies.Frenchmaterialism,Germanhumanism
andEnglishutilitarianismweremeldedtogetherintoapeculiarlyRussiancombinationthatcametobecalled"nihilism".
Wetendtothinkofanihilistassomeonewhobelievesinnothing,buttheRussiannihilistsofthe1860swereverydifferent.They
wereferventbelieversinscience,whowantedtodestroythereligiousandmoraltraditionsthathadguidedhumankindinthepast
inorderthatanewandbetterworldcouldcomeintobeing.Thereareplentyofpeoplewhobelievesomethingsimilartoday.
Dostoyevsky'sindictmentofnihilismispresentedinhisgreatnovelDemons.Publishedin1872,thebookhasbeencriticisedfor
beingdidacticintone,andtherecanbenodoubtthathewantedtoshowthatthedominantideasofhisgenerationwereharmful.

ButthestoryDostoyevskytellsisalsoadarkcomedy,cruellyfunnyinitsdepictionofhighmindedintellectualstoyingwith
revolutionarynotionswithoutunderstandinganythingofwhatrevolutionmeansinpractice.
TheplotisaversionofactualeventsthatunfoldedasDostoyevskywaswritingthebook.Aformerteacherofdivinityturned
terrorist,SergeiNechaev,wasarrestedandconvictedofcomplicityinthekillingofastudent.Nechaevhadauthoredapamphlet,
TheCatechismofaRevolutionary,whicharguedthatanymeans(includingblackmailandmurder)couldbeusedtoadvancethe
causeofrevolution.ThestudenthadquestionedNechaev'spolicies,andsohadtobeeliminated.
Dostoyevskysuggeststhattheresultofabandoningmoralityforthesakeofanideaoffreedomwillbeatypeoftyrannymore
extremethananyinthepast.AsoneofthecharactersinDemonsconfesses:"Igotentangledinmyowndata,andmy
conclusiondirectlycontradictstheoriginalideafromwhichIstart.Fromunlimitedfreedom,Iconcludewithunlimiteddespotism."
AsadescriptionofwhatwouldoccurinRussiaasaresultoftheBolshevikrevolutionnearly50yearslater,thiscanhardlybe
improvedupon.Thoughhecriticisedhimforrelyingtoomuchonindividualactsofterror,LeninadmiredNechaevforhis
readinesstocommitanycrimeifitservedtherevolution.ButasDostoyevskyforesaw,theuseofinhumanmethodstoachievea
newkindoffreedomproducedatypeofrepressionthatwasmuchmorefarreachingthanthetheatricalcrueltiesoftsarism.
Dostoyevsky'snovelcontainsalessonthatreachesfarbeyondRussia.EarlyEnglishtranslationsborethetitleThePossessed
amisreadingofaRussianwordmoreaccuratelyrenderedasDemons.Buttheearliertitlemayhavebeencloserto
Dostoyevsky'sintentions.Thoughattimesheismercilessinhisportrayalofthem,itisn'ttherevolutionarieswhoaredemons.It's
theideastowhichtherevolutionariesareenslaved.
DostoyevskythoughttheflawattheheartofRussiannihilismwasatheism,butyouneedn'tsharehisviewonthispointtosee
thatwhenhewritesofthedemonicpowerofideashehasfastenedonagenuinehumandisorder.Nordoyouneedtoapproveof
Dostoyevsky'spoliticaloutlook,whichwasamysticalversionofnationalismdeeplystainedwithxenophobia.
WhatDostoyevskydiagnosedandattimessufferedfromhimselfwasthetendencytothinkofideasasbeingsomehowmore
realthanactualhumanbeings.Itwouldbeamistaketoimaginethatwehaven'talsofallenintothissortofdelusionalthinking.
ThewarstheWesthasfoughtintheMiddleEastoverthepastdecadeandmoreareoftenattackedasbeinglittlemorethan
attemptstoseizenaturalresources,butI'msurethisisn'tthewholestory.Atypeofmoralfantasyhasbeenjustasimportantin
explainingtheWest'srepeatedinterventionsandtheirrecurringfailure.
Dostoyevsky'sothermajornovels
CrimeandPunishment(1866):ThestoryofRaskolnikov,ayoungstudentin19thCenturyStPetersburg,whoisconsumedwithguiltafterhekillsa
moneylender
TheIdiot(1868):ThetaleofPrinceMyshkinthe"idiot"ofthetitlewhosenaiveandtrustingnatureprecipitatesdisasterforthepeoplearoundhim
TheBrothersKaramazov(1880)Philosophicalnovelaboutfourbrothersandtheirdissolutelandownerfather,whosemurderraisesquestionsaboutGod,
freewillandmorality

We'vecometoimaginethatideaslike"democracy","humanrightsand"freedom"haveapoweroftheirown,whichcan
transformthelivesofanyonewhoisexposedtothem.We'velaunchedprojectsofregimechange,whichaimtorealisethese
ideasbytopplingtyrants.Butexportingrevolutioninthisfashioncanhavetheeffectoffracturingthestate,ashashappenedin
Libya,SyriaandIraq,leadingtocivilwar,anarchyandnewtypesoftyranny.
Theresultisthepositionwefindourselvesinatthepresenttime.Westernpolicyisnowdrivenbyfearofforcesandideasthat
havesprungfromthechaosthatearlierWesterninterventioncreated.Sadly,thisfearisn'tgroundless.Theriskoftheseconflicts
reboundingonusasWesterncitizenswhohavefoughtinthemreturnhomeisalltooreal.
Weliketothinkthatliberalsocietiesareimmunetothedangerouspowerofideas.Butit'sanillusiontothinkwedon'thave
demonsofourown.Possessedbygrandioseconceptionsoffreedom,we'vetriedtochangethesystemsofgovernmentof
countrieswedon'tbegintounderstand.LikethedeludedrevolutionariesofDostoyevsky'snovel,we'veturnedabstractnotions
intoidolsandsacrificedothersandourselvesintheattempttoservethem.
MorefromJohnGrayonwriters
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SubscribetotheBBCNewsMagazine'semailnewslettertogetarticlessenttoyourinbox.
Hereareaselectionofyourviews.
Thecomparisonswithour(thewest's)policiesintheMiddleEasttoday,arepertinentandvalid,andremindmeofSteven
Covey'sadvice'Beforeyoutrytomakeyourselfunderstood,makesureyouunderstand'.

MarkThompson,Manchester
Itmaynotbeobvioushowtobringaboutwhat'srightbutwhat'swrongcanbeobvious.SaddamHusseinwaswronghewas
genocidalagainsttheKurdsandmurderousonalargescaleagainstthesouthernShi'aandtheWestknewit.TheWest,
indeed,wentfrombeingpromptedby'intellectuals'tostopcooperatingwithhimintheIran/Iraqwar(althoughthatcooperation
wasgrosslyoverstated)tothosesame'intellectuals'pleadingthathebeleftinplacewhentheIraqWarwasplanned.Itismorally
wrongtosaythatbecauseyoucannotachieveeverythingyouwant,youshouldattemptnothing.Everywouldbedictatorinthe
MiddleEastandbeyondhasseenpicturesofSaddamHusseinattrialandexecution.Justasnuclearwarwasavoidedinlarge
partbythethreatofdeathtothoseeveninthehighestreachesofgovernment,sothiswilldissuadedictatorsofthefuture.At
least,likeAbdelSisitheyknowtheymustkeeptheWestonside.SoAmnestyandotherswillhavesomesayintheirgovernment.
Interventionmustbeseeninautilitarianlight,notassomeindividualdilemma,althoughtheremustbeadutylike'Responsibility
toProtect'evenifitisonlyinone'sownmind.ItwascertainlyinTonyBlair'smindand'intellectuals'havepilloriedhimforitever
since.Thatiswrong.
CliveHill,MiltonKeynes,UK
Interestingpiecebutyou'refinalconclusionisabreathtakingmisfire.Thepeoplewhohavebeenpossessedbyideasthroughout
therecentmiddleeasternconflicts,thosewhohavebeencompletelymotivatedbyanideology,havetobetheradicalMuslims.
Theseindividualsareclearlyincrediblydevout,theytaketheQuranmuchmoreseriouslythanalmostanyothermuslims
communityonearth.ManycanrecitetheQuranbyheart,astheBolshevikscouldfortheCommunistmanifesto.Theidea
motivatesthem,guidesthem,consumesthem.Yougotitwrongbuddy,Islamicextremismhasbeenaroundforcenturies,long
beforewewronglyintervenedthere.Ourintentionstoremovedespotsandspreaddemocracymayhavebenave,butitisnotan
allconsumingmotivationasreligionhasbeenfortheenemy,freedomanddemocracyarefarfromoursoldiersmindsonthe
battlefield,Islamisneverfarfromtheirs.
KieranMitchell,Hull,Yorkshire
TheUnitedStatesiscurrentlyinthegripofoneoftheseperniciousideas.Therathergoodandoldfashionedconceptthatone
shouldsticktoonesprinciples,comewhatmay,hasmorphedintoaCongressstuffedfullofideologueswhorefuseto
compromise.Thefallaciesinherentwhentakinganyideatoextremescouldn'tbebetterillustrated.Ingeneralwelivein
representativedemocracies,notjustforpracticalreasonsbutalsobecausetoomuchdirectdemocracyleadstotyranyofthe
majorityandandinabilitytogetthingsdonebecausepeopledon'tlikecompromising.We(should)electrepresentativeswho
understandthatpoliticsistheartofthepossible,theattainable.
RobertHarris,Gainesville,FLUSA
It'struethatexportingWesternideologiestononWesternsocietiescanhavedetrimentalresultsintheshortterm.Butthe
questionisnotsomuchtheupheavaltheideasofdemocracyandlibertycanproduce,butthepersistenceofoppressive
structuresifthestatusquoweretobeleftunchallenged.Whatistobepreferred:thechaoswhichsocietieswherefreedom
movementstakeholdmustundergo?orthestabilityoftyrannieswhichkeepthepeopleat"peace"butsubjugated?TheFrench
revolutionwasanawfulepisode.Butitwastheoutcomeofcenturiesoffeudaldominationthatreacheditspeakintheabsolute
monarchies.Onceitwasover,amuchlargerfractionofthepopulationhadasayontheirfatethanbefore.TheAmerican
revolutionwasabloodystruggle,asitwastheCivilWar.Butitcouldn'tbearguedthattheliberationoftheSouthernblackslaves
wasn'tworththehalfamillionwhitepeoplewhodiedtowintheiremancipation.Thepiece'sconflationoftheinterimresultsofthe
ArabrevolutionswithDostoyevsky'sreasonableviewofthelimitationsofliberationideas,which,ifmisunderstoodandunchecked
canturnthemintonewformsofoppression,detractsfromthemainpointofhisthinking,whichwasthatevengoodideasand
ideologiescanbeevil,iftheybecomeidolstobeworshiped.ThisindeedisthecaseofMarxismLeninism,which,inthenameof
theworkersfreedom,hasledtothekillingandoppressionofprobablymorepeoplethananyotherformofidolatry.Remember
notjusttheSovietUnionanditsWarsawPactsatellites,butalso,Mao'sChina,theKhmerRouge,theEthiopianDerg,theKimIl
dynasty,theCastrobrothers,Ceaucescu'sRomania,theMyanmarBurmesejuntas,...Thisalsoappliestotheideaofunlimited
individuallibertyastheabsolute,whichsomesecularhumaniststrytouseasthebasisforhumanrelations,leadingtonotions
likedenyingthevalidityofuniversalmoralcodestoreplacethemwitharelativisticandutilitarianethics.Onsuchbasisit's
possibletomakepronouncementslikethoseoftheUSSupremeCourt,whichfindsitconvenient,inthenameofa"supremeright
toprivacy",toredefineconceptssuchassayingthatbeingapersonappliestoonlycertainclassesofhumanbeings(thoseborn
alive),whichofcourse,allowstheredefinitionoftheconceptinanyarbitrarytermsthatsuitthepurposeofthedefiner.Thatwas
preciselywhatwasdonebytheNazis,whoredefinedJewsandSlavsassubhumans,thereforenonpersons.
OscarRondon,Charlottesville,USA

ThecentralthemeofthearticleisthatDostoevskypredictedthetotalitarianstatewithinwhichoneidea(ideal)predominatesto
theexclusionofallothers.Theinferenceistowardsecularideascapitalism,communism,Nazism.Yetthemostpowerfulidea
ofallformanythousandsofyearshasbeentheconceptofreligionmaintainingthebeliefthatagod(oragroupofgods)
determinesthemoralityofthefollowersofthatreligion.Addtothatthefactthatmanyreligionshaveformedthebasisof
totalitarianstates.Forexample,atthetimeHenryviiicametothethroneEnglandwasaCatholictotalitarianstateoverseenby
thePope,aswereprettymucheveryEuropeanstate.CitizensofEnglandhadtobeCatholic.Whatismoretheyhadtobeactive
Catholicsattendingchurchasroutine.Deviationfromthisledtoseriouspunishmentatworst,burningatthestake.Monty
PythonmadefunoftheSpanishInquisition,yetthiswasastaterunorganizationthatterrorizedSpanishcitizensintomaintaining
mainstreamCatholicdoctrine.Earlierexamples,aretheEgyptianstateatthetimeofthePharoes,andstatesinSouthAmerica
,wherenationsliketheIncaswerecontrolledbyasinglestateendorsedreligion.Therefore,atthetimewhenDostoevskywas
writingtotalitarianstateshadbeeninexistenceformanythousandsofyears.
JohnParker,Brough,EastYorkshire
Mywifewhohasgrownupinadictatorship(firstSovietUnion,laterBelarus)hasbeensayingtomeforalongtimethatwhatwe
aredoingin"theWest"istotallywrongandmisguided.Yes,ouraimtopromotedemocracyandhumanrightsisnobleandgood,
butwehavebecomeseducedbyouridealsandblindedtocommonsenseandordinarydecency.TheWesttoday,byits
(possibly)idealisticactions,hasbeenacatalysttomisery,warandethniccleansingallovertheMiddleEastandinUkraine.
Maybeweshouldbegintoconsiderwhatwereallystandfor,idealisticbutunrealisticwordslikedemocracy,orthehumanrightof
peopletoliveinpeaceandsecurity,albeitinsomecasesunderatotalitarianregime.
MikeNeville,Nykoebing,Denmark

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