In one of the foundational works of utopian literature, The Republic (see my very first Substack article), Plato suggests that the rulers of the ideal state should be philosophers who value truth above all else. He writes, “Until philosophers are kings…and political greatness and wisdom meet in one…cities will never have rest from their evils.” He later describes these philosopher rulers as “lovers of the vision of truth.” The leaders depicted in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, however, are the antithesis of what Plato imagines. The members of the “Inner Party” of Ingsoc (short for the English Socialism Party) hate the truth because they consider it a threat to their power; instead, they rely on deceit in all aspects of government. In order to control the members of the “Outer Party” in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the rulers of Oceania must dictate what they believe. They accomplish this brainwashing through a variety of devious methods. To ensure their success, they also must utilize constant surveillance to make sure that no one promotes any ideas that conflict with their lies. Orwell’s dystopia is not unique. A shared feature of the literary dystopias that emerged in the twentieth century is the power of deceit which leads to the absolute rejection of Plato’s mandate to love the truth.
Another common feature of dystopian fiction, including Orwell’s novel, is the presence of a main character who senses that something is wrong and begins to doubt what is being promoted by the government as truth. In Brave New World (see my previous post), this character is John the Savage while in Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is Winston Smith. When he is sure that he is not being watched, Winston writes his thoughts in a diary because he feels compelled to express himself and, in so doing, record something that is true. He considers his audience to be readers who live in another time (“a time when truth exists”) and he wants to make sure that these people know that he was not a big fan of Oceania’s leader, “Big Brother.” He later becomes involved in what he thinks is an underground movement opposing the Inner Party but is ultimately imprisoned and tortured until he is re-indoctrinated into the lies of Ingsoc.
Ironically, Winston works at the “Ministry of Truth” where his job is actually to erase the truth and revise history by rewriting newspaper articles from the past that contradict events of the present as well as to embellish articles in order to make Big Brother appear to be an omniscient prophet. The purpose of the Ministry of Truth is to make sure that no record remains of anything that happened in the past that the Inner Party does not want Outer Party members to know about because “if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth.”
History is falsified in other ways by the Inner Party to advance their own agenda. The past becomes not an immutable series of real events but a fictitious narrative that is constantly changing. Those who are deemed dangerous to this narrative are subject to “vaporization” as they mysteriously disappear, and all memory of them is erased from the public record. The past is also embellished with fictitious details that are complimentary to current leaders. Meanwhile, characters like Big Brother and Emmanuel Goldstein become a central part of this story that is promulgated as truth even though it seems likely that these two individuals do not even exist. As if all of this weren’t enough, books written before 1960 have been banned and society is left to consume inane stories that reinforce Party lies rather than reading classic literature that conveys eternal truths.
Citizens are brainwashed into accepting the contradictory ideas promoted by “doublethink” as reflected in the oxymoronic slogans upon which the entire society is based (equating war with love, slavery with freedom, and ignorance with strength). Language itself is manipulated to support the lies of the Party through the development of Newspeak, the purpose of which is to suppress rather than express thoughts. The ultimate goal of Newspeak is to make it impossible to commit “thoughtcrime” which is basically any idea that conflicts with Party beliefs. This purpose is primarily accomplished through the reduction of words and an oversimplification of grammar which diminishes thought and does not allow the truth to be told. Words such as “honour,” “justice,” and “morality,” and anything to do with freedom or liberty has been abolished. Even the word “science” is gone! Unlike other languages, Newspeak’s vocabulary is becoming increasingly smaller rather than larger, leading to a contraction of thought rather than an expansion. The few words that remain can only support the lies of the Party by making them appear to be the truth.
Meanwhile, a constant state of false crisis is created by the Inner Party’s fabrication of a war narrative complete with fictitious enemies, the purpose of which is to promote allegiance to the state. Oceania is supposedly either embroiled in a war with Eastasia or Eurasia; it doesn’t really matter which as long as there is a war. On a daily basis, all the Outer Party members take a break from their work to participate in the “Two Minutes Hate,” an odd ritual during which they are required to express their hatred for their enemies, especially Emmanuel Goldstein who embodies all of the heretical thoughts that were forbidden by the Party. The annual “Hate Week” is designed for the same reason—to enrage citizens into a hyper-emotional state that will strengthen their ties to the Party and their love of Big Brother.
The most blatant lie of all told in Nineteen Eighty-Four is that “2 + 2 = 5,” an absurdity that Winston ultimately comes to accept after he is tortured to the breaking point. If the Inner Party can convince Outer Party members of this lie, it can convince them of anything! This constant bombardment with lies is ultimately effective in brainwashing Orwell’s dystopian society into thinking that nothing is wrong and that Big Brother watches over them benevolently replacing God and family, both of which must be eradicated from society if the Inner Party is to exercise complete control over all of its members. Unfortunately, the Inner Party succeeds in brainwashing Winston back into a state of utter subjugation and love of Big Brother. Nineteen Eighty-Four’s ending, however, should not depress us; instead, it should inspire us to remain vigilant in recognizing the deceitful practices of our own leaders who so often fail to live up to Plato’s ideal of truth. Rather than passively allowing them to take away our God-given freedoms, we should passionately assert, “2 + 2 = 4!”
As a supplement to reading Orwell’s novel, and an alternative to the well-known film adaptation starring John Hurt and Richard Burton (actually released in 1984), here is a link to a shorter (and less depressing) televised adaptation produced in 1953 and aired live as the premiere episode of season 6 of Studio One: