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1984 grew directly out of Orwells experience in the war. POUM and Andreu Nin Perez and Leon Trotsky's treatment at the hands of Stalin and the ComIntern were ve

1984 grew directly out of Orwells experience in the war. POUM and Andreu Nin Perez and Leon Trotsky's treatment at the hands of Stalin and the ComIntern were very disheartening for him 1984 is very difficult to map directly on to US politics because liberal/neoliberal capture of the universities and mainstream journalism are kindof total the way that American conservatives allege, but also George Blair hoped that figures like Trotsky of the Red Army and Perez of the POUM would win out in the end Orwell would not have been friends with the pepper Christian homeschooler, the glad-handing inside dealing Mar a Lago member, the little local lord like the area car dealership owner, the conspiracy theorist YouTuber, the Rad Trad anti Vatican II syncretist, those supremely Trumpist figures. You kindof have to visit with George the man, his actions, and his times to understand his story. But that tends to muck up any chance to put him to use purely for your side. (He was a socialist though, til the day he died, so he'd be voting Biden were he here in Wisconsin right now : P)

hutzlibu 6y ago
"He was a socialist though, til the day he died so he'd be voting Biden were he here in Wisconsin right now : P" Not sure if that was sarcasm referring to labeling of Biden as socialist by Trump and co? Because I doubt any real socialist would consider Biden a socialist.
- bgilroy26 6y ago
  They wouldn't, you're right. We will not see the NYSE shuttered in the next 4 years or Amazon's excess of revenue over expenses taxed at 100% and their money bags driven across the country in armored trucks and heaved into Elizabeth Warren's US Treasury as a result of this election. On the other hand, despite the fact that my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek when I wrote it, such Debbie Wasserman Schultz haters as Nathan J Robinson and Noam Chomsky have adopted the 'Vote for Biden and keep protesting' angle so who's to say how the real socialists are voting this year?
  - bleeding 6y ago
    "Real socialists" is definitely not a community with a homogeneous opinion on who to vote for, or even on whether a "real socialist" should vote. The argument on whether socialists should participate in liberal democracy has been one that has been ongoing since essentially the dawn of leftist politics. The theory of two revolutions, the idea that a revolution constructing a liberal democracy was a necessary step towards socialism, was probably the prevailing idea in many of the 19th and early 20th century revolutions (like the revolutions of 1848 and the Russian Revolution of 1905). There were obviously people who did not take this line, but it is not new or conciliatory that some leftists take a similar stance today.
- geofft 6y ago
  He's certainly not a socialist, but Trump and co. are right that socialists are generally less unhappy with Biden than with Trump, and many of them are sufficiently less unhappy to think it's worth voting for him. And I think you can infer Orwell's position enough from this essay itself - he is concerned about "the liberal tradition" being the last bulwark against worldwide fascism just one sentence before criticising England's liberal tradition for not being willing to actively stand up to evil because that tradition believes good will win out because good is good. Liberalism is hardly sufficient, but it's necessary. (Another way of putting this: Orwell is not an accelerationist. You can see from this essay that he's quite concerned with the material conditions of the working class in a realistic way, and the idea that they should get worse so that the people will revolt is neither convincing nor appealing to him.)
- Accipitriform 6y ago
  Biden isn't actually relevant, as the real candidate is K. Harris and her handlers. She is definitely a socialist/communist! I doubt Biden would last as President until Inauguration Day. Thankfully, all signs are pointing to a DJT victory tomorrow! ;-)

hutzlibu 6y ago

"He was a socialist though, til the day he died so he'd be voting Biden were he here in Wisconsin right now : P" Not sure if that was sarcasm referring to labeling of Biden as socialist by Trump and co? Because I doubt any real socialist would consider Biden a socialist.

bgilroy26 6y ago
They wouldn't, you're right. We will not see the NYSE shuttered in the next 4 years or Amazon's excess of revenue over expenses taxed at 100% and their money bags driven across the country in armored trucks and heaved into Elizabeth Warren's US Treasury as a result of this election. On the other hand, despite the fact that my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek when I wrote it, such Debbie Wasserman Schultz haters as Nathan J Robinson and Noam Chomsky have adopted the 'Vote for Biden and keep protesting' angle so who's to say how the real socialists are voting this year?
- bleeding 6y ago
  "Real socialists" is definitely not a community with a homogeneous opinion on who to vote for, or even on whether a "real socialist" should vote. The argument on whether socialists should participate in liberal democracy has been one that has been ongoing since essentially the dawn of leftist politics. The theory of two revolutions, the idea that a revolution constructing a liberal democracy was a necessary step towards socialism, was probably the prevailing idea in many of the 19th and early 20th century revolutions (like the revolutions of 1848 and the Russian Revolution of 1905). There were obviously people who did not take this line, but it is not new or conciliatory that some leftists take a similar stance today.
geofft 6y ago
He's certainly not a socialist, but Trump and co. are right that socialists are generally less unhappy with Biden than with Trump, and many of them are sufficiently less unhappy to think it's worth voting for him. And I think you can infer Orwell's position enough from this essay itself - he is concerned about "the liberal tradition" being the last bulwark against worldwide fascism just one sentence before criticising England's liberal tradition for not being willing to actively stand up to evil because that tradition believes good will win out because good is good. Liberalism is hardly sufficient, but it's necessary. (Another way of putting this: Orwell is not an accelerationist. You can see from this essay that he's quite concerned with the material conditions of the working class in a realistic way, and the idea that they should get worse so that the people will revolt is neither convincing nor appealing to him.)
Accipitriform 6y ago
Biden isn't actually relevant, as the real candidate is K. Harris and her handlers. She is definitely a socialist/communist! I doubt Biden would last as President until Inauguration Day. Thankfully, all signs are pointing to a DJT victory tomorrow! ;-)