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>Orwell being so right about governments using the constant threat of a virtual enemy has got to be one of the all time top on the money predictions ever. It's

>Orwell being so right about governments using the constant threat of a virtual enemy has got to be one of the all time top on the money predictions ever. It's not a prediction when it's history. That has been going on at least as long as the Roman Empire, yet people are still surprised it's happening today. Modern regimes didn't invent these schemes, they're reusing tried and tested methods because they're known to work because human psychology and behavioral instinct is vulnerable to the same exploits which probably will never get patched anytime soon.

rrr_oh_man 2y ago
And it’s always the others who are doing it. Our government would never. I mean, they did, but that was at least… dozens of years ago. And got forcibly declassified. They would never today. I guess. :-)
- llm_trw 2y ago
  It's been at least one dozen years ago since the last time it happened. No one from that period is still in the exact same position as when it happened - some of them were promoted.
  - nozzlegear 2y ago
    > some of them were promoted. And the rest? Who exactly are you talking about here?
- dh2022 2y ago
  I am sorry I lack context. Which government took over dozens of years ago? And what got forcibly declassified? Thanks.
  - jamal-kumar 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - coldtea 2y ago
      Speakers over 40 all around the world use that. And when emojis are not supported (like in an plain text file meant to be read on people's terminals, or iirc here on HN too), it makes sense for people under 40 too.
      - setopt 2y ago
        They might have meant writing :-) instead of :), while I think you’re talking about
        jamal-kumar 2y ago
        Yeah specifically with that hyphen nose. I have like three friends who all do that and they all meet that description it's hilarious
        rrr_oh_man 2y ago
        Don‘t discriminate against the hyphen nose. (Said in a sharp German accent) :-)
        jamal-kumar 2y ago
        Would guess also you remember your ICQ number
  - layer8 2y ago
    This is about “using the constant threat of a virtual enemy”, not necessarily about a coup d’état (although that wasn’t so far away either four years ago).
rob74 2y ago
Indeed - When he wrote 1984 in 1948, Orwell just took his contemporary totalitarian regimes (mostly Nazi Germany and the USSR) and extrapolated them to world scale...
- ImPostingOnHN 2y ago
  1984 seems to be set in the UK ('Airstrip One', of 'Oceana'). None of the storyline actually takes place in 'Eurasia' or 'Eastasia' or any other part of the world. They don't need to even actually exist for the storyline. Indeed, this itself is a message about controlling a populace via control of information. The rest of the world could have been razed by war, they could be total utopias. The propaganda keeps people from thinking about alternatives.
  - xnorswap 2y ago
    Yes, but Orwell wasn't really writing _about_ the UK, you need to look at the context and background of the work, which is the rise of Stalinism and the fear of that brand of totalitarianism taking over.
    - zorked 2y ago
      There is a very politically-motivated school of interpretation of 1984 that wants to excessively tie it to "Stalinism" to prevent using the book to critique other political doctrines - completely unrelated to Stalinism or communism - that exhibit the same tendencies. Interpret more broadly and it becomes a much better, more important book.
      - xnorswap 2y ago
        It wasn't just Stalinism, it was wider totalitarianism too, but that wasn't the point I was making, it wasn't a critique directed against the state of the UK at the time, but what it could become.
- BurningFrog 2y ago
  Orwell learned his cynicism the hard way as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish civil war 1936-37. He arrived as an idealistic anti fascist fighter. After experiencing Stalinism in person, he became the man we know. https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/how-spains-civil-war-defined-george-orwell-politically/ https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/how-spai...
baybal2 2y ago
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rrr_oh_man 2y ago

And it’s always the others who are doing it. Our government would never. I mean, they did, but that was at least… dozens of years ago. And got forcibly declassified. They would never today. I guess. :-)

llm_trw 2y ago
It's been at least one dozen years ago since the last time it happened. No one from that period is still in the exact same position as when it happened - some of them were promoted.
- nozzlegear 2y ago
  > some of them were promoted. And the rest? Who exactly are you talking about here?
dh2022 2y ago
I am sorry I lack context. Which government took over dozens of years ago? And what got forcibly declassified? Thanks.
- jamal-kumar 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - coldtea 2y ago
    Speakers over 40 all around the world use that. And when emojis are not supported (like in an plain text file meant to be read on people's terminals, or iirc here on HN too), it makes sense for people under 40 too.
    - setopt 2y ago
      They might have meant writing :-) instead of :), while I think you’re talking about
      - jamal-kumar 2y ago
        Yeah specifically with that hyphen nose. I have like three friends who all do that and they all meet that description it's hilarious
        rrr_oh_man 2y ago
        Don‘t discriminate against the hyphen nose. (Said in a sharp German accent) :-)
        jamal-kumar 2y ago
        Would guess also you remember your ICQ number
- layer8 2y ago
  This is about “using the constant threat of a virtual enemy”, not necessarily about a coup d’état (although that wasn’t so far away either four years ago).

rob74 2y ago

Indeed - When he wrote 1984 in 1948, Orwell just took his contemporary totalitarian regimes (mostly Nazi Germany and the USSR) and extrapolated them to world scale...

ImPostingOnHN 2y ago
1984 seems to be set in the UK ('Airstrip One', of 'Oceana'). None of the storyline actually takes place in 'Eurasia' or 'Eastasia' or any other part of the world. They don't need to even actually exist for the storyline. Indeed, this itself is a message about controlling a populace via control of information. The rest of the world could have been razed by war, they could be total utopias. The propaganda keeps people from thinking about alternatives.
- xnorswap 2y ago
  Yes, but Orwell wasn't really writing _about_ the UK, you need to look at the context and background of the work, which is the rise of Stalinism and the fear of that brand of totalitarianism taking over.
  - zorked 2y ago
    There is a very politically-motivated school of interpretation of 1984 that wants to excessively tie it to "Stalinism" to prevent using the book to critique other political doctrines - completely unrelated to Stalinism or communism - that exhibit the same tendencies. Interpret more broadly and it becomes a much better, more important book.
    - xnorswap 2y ago
      It wasn't just Stalinism, it was wider totalitarianism too, but that wasn't the point I was making, it wasn't a critique directed against the state of the UK at the time, but what it could become.
BurningFrog 2y ago
Orwell learned his cynicism the hard way as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish civil war 1936-37. He arrived as an idealistic anti fascist fighter. After experiencing Stalinism in person, he became the man we know. https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/how-spains-civil-war-defined-george-orwell-politically/ https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/commentaries/how-spai...

baybal2 2y ago

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deleted 2y ago

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