The anguish of a divided world gave birth to the theory of convergence between the leading Western countries and the Soviet Union. It is a soothing theory which overlooks the fact that these worlds are not evolving toward each other and that neither one can be transformed into the other without violence. (Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, A World Split Apart, Commencement Address At Harvard, June 8, 1978)

a) Solzhenitsyn again rejects the idea that fundamental problems can be solved by leaving them in place, and hoping or postulating that they will “converge” or “evolve toward each other”. He has already cited “the illusion according to which danger may be abolished through successful diplomatic negotiations or by achieving a balance of armed forces.” Now he goes further to specify that these “worlds” share a single logic of “violence”. They are constitutionally unable to relate to another world except on this basis. As Plato notes: “an interminable battle is always going on between the two camps”.

The World Split Apart segments continue here.