Raskolinikov

Rodion Raskolinikov, the central character of Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment,’ deludes himself into believing that he is a superior man and can use others as he will. Yes, he is also impoverished and resentful, but that is the central idea around which the author builds his story. Obviously, Dostoevsky disapproved of that sort of mindset, which had a certain popularity among the intelligentsia of his time — and still does. We see the same ideas put forth by men such as Thiel and Musk, people whose hubris leads them to think they know what is best for mankind* and who should be sacrificed for their goals.

Raskolinikov is redeemed but I fear his modern real life counterparts will never be. I’m not a fan, I’ll admit, of Dostoevsky’s moralizing and unrealistic ‘realism,’ but I’m in agreement with his central point. Even if he does bludgeon us with it almost as much as his main character bludgeons the pawn broker with his axe.

*I, of course, always argue that ‘mankind’ does not exist except as a vague concept. Only individual men and women are real.