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Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas

John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas, such as misguided idealism sweeping away tyrannies without regard for the risks of anarchy.

John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas such as misguided idealism sweeping away tyrannies without regard for the risks of anarchy. "Dostoevsky suggests that the end result of abandoning morality for the sake of an idea of freedom will be a type of tyranny more extreme than any in the past."
Producer: Sheila Cook.

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10 minutes

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Sun 23 Nov 2014 08:48

A Point of View: The writer who foresaw the rise of the totalitarian state

A Point of View: The writer who foresaw the rise of the totalitarian state

The 19th Century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote about characters who justified murder in the name of their ideological beliefs. For this reason, John Gray argues, he's remained relevant ever since, through the rise of the totalitarian states of the 20th Century, to the "war against terror".

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Role Contributor
Presenter John Gray
Producer Sheila Cook

Broadcasts

  • Fri 21 Nov 2014 20:50
  • Sun 23 Nov 2014 08:48

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