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'George Orwell' is a fictional character. Real name: 'Eric Blair' who went to Church every Sunday, though I think he was kind of an Atheist. Not the same dude a
by sonnyblarney 8y ago
'George Orwell' is a fictional character. Real name: 'Eric Blair' who went to Church every Sunday, though I think he was kind of an Atheist. Not the same dude as Orwell. He had complicated views, and was not a 'socialist' in the more popular sense. Remember in 1984 that the 'bad guys' ideology is 'IngSoc', i.e. 'English Socialism'. So not exactly a big Social Dem supporter of the era.
- icebraining 8y agoA pen name is not the same as a fictional character. And the point of IngSoc is that it rejects socialist principles, while doing so in the same of Socialism - much like many socialists viewed the Bolsheviks and/or the Stalinists. I don't think this is complicated; in-fighting amongst left-wing/socialist groups is a staple ever since the term was coined. Socialism never had a single main ideology.
- stcredzero 8y agoSocialism never had a single main ideology. If you go by person-years of ruled population, Socialism does have a predominant type of regime, which generally branded itself as "Marxist," was mostly totalitarian, and accounted for about 100 million deaths in the past century.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago"A pen name is not the same as a fictional character" I agree and I wish I had the reference, but I think Orwell was used as an identity, not just a pen.
- icebraining 8y agoWell, he penned even his autobiographical works (like Homage to Catalonia) under George Orwell, so it can't be very fictional.