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“WAR IS STRENGTH
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” - slogan of the Party in George Orwell's 1984
In 1984, George Orwell portrays the future via the world of Winston Smith, reluctant member of the Outer Party that rules Oceania (the Americas and British Isles). Written in the 1940s, the book depicts 1984 as a time of never-ending war involving the three major world powers: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. It is an era of ubiquitous corruption in politics, great suppression of freedom, and universal efforts by those on top to preserve the class hierarchies from which their status is derived. History (in electronic form – described by Orwell long before electronic media became a reality) is continually rewritten to meet the needs of the Party, with Smith serving as one of history's authors. Smith, disgruntled with the system, attempts to fight it. He allies himself with the lovestruck Julia and O'Brien, the latter ultimately serving as his betrayer. (One never questions the Party; to do so is unpatriotic and implies complicity with the enemy.) Smith is eventually "reformed" by O'Brien but never fully escapes his hatred of the Party and its lies. Some fascinating concepts introduced by Orwell in the book include Newspeak (the language designed by the Party to replace common English – the language eliminates superfluous words and quirks – Orwell includes an appendix describing Newspeak in clever detail); doublethink (the act or process of holding two contradictory positions at once and accepting both of them equally – doublethink is a Newspeak term); Big Brother (the shadowy leader of the Party), a term included in our common lexicon today; the Thought Police; and the "ministries" of Truth, Peace, Plenty, and Love (MiniTrue, MiniPax, MiniPlenty, MiniLuv) – which in fact act in direct opposition to their respective titles. MiniPax, for example, is effectively the Ministry of War. While Orwell's vision may not have come to full fruition, one can identify many characteristics of his negative utopia in society today. The more I travel, the more convinced I become that 1984 is hardly fiction. In Myanmar, history is rewritten and truths denied – for the benefit of the Party. (The names used to describe Burma's ruling junta are also particularly apt: the State Law and Order Restoration Council gave way a few years back to the State Peace and Development Council. Given the actions of the governments described, these names are no less duplicitous than MiniPax or MiniPlenty.) The Khmer Rouge was the Party, Pol Pot and his minions brainwashing the Cambodian population and insisting that only via death of the individual would the collective thrive. War is Peace – Freedom is Slavery – Ignorance is Strength. I cannot think of a better slogan to ascribe to the Khmer Rouge. And then there is my own country, the United States. I think of Vietnam and Laos. 9-11, the Patriot Act, Star Wars Missile Defense. Iraq. Perpetual war. It's easy to find the parallels, tempting to assess blame. But the power of 1984 lies in its ability to remind us that all of our governments (regardless of their inherent goodness or badness) are suspect. We must always be wary of group-think; we cannot stop thinking for ourselves. "Orthodoxy means not thinking – not needing to think," says Orwell in 1984. "Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." It is this which he most fears – not government per se, but propaganda and dogma, orthodoxy and the lack of dissent. 1984, says Eric Fromm in the book's afterward, is as a warning that "unless the course of history changes, men all over the world will lose their most human qualities, will become soulless automatons, and will not even be aware of it." Chilling and pessimistic, yes – but still a warning we should heed. << Find this Book on Amazon.com >>
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![[Book Cover Page: 1984]](images/books/1984.jpg "1984")