How Dostoevsky Helps Explain Political Struggle in America

... readers better understand its culture. However, very few people would think about using Dostoevsky for understanding not so much Russia as the West itself. What is happening today in the United States provides a good opportunity to recap the legacy of the Russian classic. Fully aware of the metaphorical and conventional nature of comparisons, the dynamics of the political struggle in the US are reminiscent of the characters of Skotoprigonyevsk − a fictional town in which the story of The Brothers Karamazov unfolds. These characters have the archetypal characteristics of American political forces. Even though any kind of comparative optic invariably distorts, Dostoyevsky’s archetypes provide an interesting picture and food for thought....