In the West, the Gradual Easing…

In the West, the gradual easing of access to books has not been accompanied by a gradual increase in the understanding of reality. Quite the opposite: in recent decades, when access has become monstrously easy, there also seems to have been a monstrous increase in the mental confusion in which the West finds itself. The irony of all this is the return of very old problems that seemed long since pacified—problems that, theoretically, a little study could solve. For some reason, it seems that inaccessibility aroused curiosity, which in turn encouraged reading and the desire to understand. There is no denying it: man is inclined to judge the most accessible as less interesting—unfortunately.