5 ms·

In the Shadow of Big Brother

28 points by samclemens 7y ago

inflatableDodo 7y ago
Is worth knowing that Orwell was standing in the shadow of Zamyatin's novel 'We' (A man so revolutionary, he managed to be exiled by both the Tsars and by Stalin), when he wrote '1984'. http://orwell.ru/people/zamyatin/zei_en http://orwell.ru/people/zamyatin/zei_en It is in many ways a much better book, and worth reading for many reasons, one of the best of them being that Stalin banned it upon publication, the ban not being lifted till 1988. Here it is - https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/We_2.pdf https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/We_2.pdf
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  The world in We feels a little more like Brave New World to me but I agree that it’s a fun book.
  - inflatableDodo 7y ago
    It had never occured to me to call it a fun book. Brilliant, without question. But not fun. There are definitely some excellent jokes in it, but they are more deeply sardonic rather than fun.
fit2rule 7y ago
We have 5-eyes now, instead of Big Brother. We have always been {enemies, friends} of {places we haven't bombed, places we have bombed} in {war, peace}. Everyone knows there is nothing you can do about it.
turk73 7y ago
I find it annoying that the article makes a subtle association between Trump and "Big Brother." Given the tireless efforts of people in the current administration to roll back Big Brother! The media lies--they don't want any thing other than collectivism for all in the West. I will never understand why except that it fulfills some control strategy of some kind. I compare what we are facing to the Matrix or maybe the AIs from Terminator. Humans have created this monster and we don't even understand it. The machine lives and it has no pity for humans and doesn't care if we all die. At every step of the way I see human beings apologizing for being demagogues, but still they are demagogues. What is this? We must get back to some fundamental basis for working together for freedom if we stand a chance at stopping a system that is trying to shackle our minds for good.

28 points by samclemens 7y ago

Is worth knowing that Orwell was standing in the shadow of Zamyatin's novel 'We' (A man so revolutionary, he managed to be exiled by both the Tsars and by Stalin), when he wrote '1984'. http://orwell.ru/people/zamyatin/zei_en http://orwell.ru/people/zamyatin/zei_en It is in many ways a much better book, and worth reading for many reasons, one of the best of them being that Stalin banned it upon publication, the ban not being lifted till 1988. Here it is - https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/We_2.pdf https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/We_2.pdf

maxxxxx 7y ago
The world in We feels a little more like Brave New World to me but I agree that it’s a fun book.
- inflatableDodo 7y ago
  It had never occured to me to call it a fun book. Brilliant, without question. But not fun. There are definitely some excellent jokes in it, but they are more deeply sardonic rather than fun.

fit2rule 7y ago

We have 5-eyes now, instead of Big Brother. We have always been {enemies, friends} of {places we haven't bombed, places we have bombed} in {war, peace}. Everyone knows there is nothing you can do about it.

turk73 7y ago

I find it annoying that the article makes a subtle association between Trump and "Big Brother." Given the tireless efforts of people in the current administration to roll back Big Brother! The media lies--they don't want any thing other than collectivism for all in the West. I will never understand why except that it fulfills some control strategy of some kind. I compare what we are facing to the Matrix or maybe the AIs from Terminator. Humans have created this monster and we don't even understand it. The machine lives and it has no pity for humans and doesn't care if we all die. At every step of the way I see human beings apologizing for being demagogues, but still they are demagogues. What is this? We must get back to some fundamental basis for working together for freedom if we stand a chance at stopping a system that is trying to shackle our minds for good.