Yes, of course, 1984! He was expressing his fears about the future of the UK, because he was British (and of course, because he was projecting a future, it was

Yes, of course, 1984! He was expressing his fears about the future of the UK, because he was British (and of course, because he was projecting a future, it was fiction). You are quite right. > And can you point towards a European country that isn't in the grip of a totalitarian state where this currently happens? No, but there are several European countries that are essentially totalitarian at the moment; and there are several European countries that are not currently totalitarian, that have required people to carry ID on pain of arrest during my memory. It's a reasonable fear.