Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Russia
11 Dec 1918 // 3 Aug 2008
Writer

A Society With Unlimited Rights

Human rights' are a fine thing, but how can we make ourselves sure that our rights do not expand at the expense of the rights of others. A society with unlimited rights is incapable of standing to adversity. If we do not wish to be ruled by a coercive authority, then each of us must rein himself in... A stable society is achieved not by balancing opposing forces but by conscious self-limitation: by the principle that we are always duty-bound to defer to the sense of moral justice.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in 'Rebuilding Russia: Reflections and Tentative Proposals'
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
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Human, All Too Human
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Essays