It turned out that capitalism alone could make people not only rich and happy but also poor, hungry, miserable, and powerless.

In all societies, public rhetoric involves some measure of lying, and history — political history and art history — is made when someone effectively confronts the lie. But in really scary societies all public conversation...

The ability to discuss things was still the most highly valued commodity in the Soviet Union.

Here is what I was trying to figure out: how a miracle happens. A great work of art — something that makes people pay attention, return to the work again and again, and reexamine their...

To create, and to confront, one has to be an outcast.

When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.

Rigidity is always the opposite of the search for truth.