You are totally correct in all you write. Yet, it is still quite easy to think of future 1984 scenarios. For instance, consider the Chinese version of NSA, it

You are totally correct in all you write. Yet, it is still quite easy to think of future 1984 scenarios. For instance, consider the Chinese version of NSA, it is an ideal tool for a free economy (i.e. a working economy) with control of the population. The country has already got a capitalist economy married to a dictatorship. We expect China to open up and democratize, now that it is getting better and the average education is increasing. But what if the communist party instead starts to integrate with the military, increases automatic surveillance and goes the other way? "The future as a foot that stamps in a face" (iirc from 1984) might seem lika a nice scenario for quite a few guys in boots. Will it happen? Afaik, the risk is small. But it certainly exists.