North Korea is close to Orwell's vision, but misses the utter humiliation of "airstrip 1". In the England of 1984 defeat has been total - in the way defeat was

North Korea is close to Orwell's vision, but misses the utter humiliation of "airstrip 1". In the England of 1984 defeat has been total - in the way defeat was total in Germany in 1948. Newspeak is another element of the vision that has not quite been realised in reality. An interesting reference/contrast is Marian in Iain M. Banks' novels, a language designed by machines to free the mind! Note, the last part of 1984 is a deconstruction of Newspeak that must have been written by a scholar in a liberated future, this is referenced powerfully (for me) by Margaret Atwood in "The Handmaiden's Tale" There is hope.