Who is Modern Man from Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema and what is their importance?

According to Tarkovsky, modern man has lost a sense of spirituality. Modern man is at the edge of history, at the end of a large historical cycle in which leaders, which Tarkovsky chidingly calls "great inquisitors," have promised modern man all manner of easy solutions and material comforts. As a result, modern man has forsaken individual responsibility and has become too dependent upon, for lack of a better term, the welfare state. Too focused upon creature comforts and earthly possessions, modern man has lost piety, a sense of duty to a greater power.