Dawn Reflections on 1984

[Sleeper]

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength.

Nothing deep here, more of a quick reflection on how the merging of ideas and language can produce arguments for anything. Others can improve and expand on these thoughts. We did this in my high school class and the variety of arguments was a trip.


War is Peace.
What is peace? Security at home. Living without the fear of being attacked. A world without outside enemies, or a world where enemies hold no sway. War is a surefire way to accomplish these things. If your enemies are bogged down fighting your armies abroad, your home is at peace. If your enemies are all dead, peace is assured. The saying that goes something like this, slightly perverted, peace is something only found at the other end of war.


Freedom is Slavery.
What is freedom? I am not touching that.
What is Slavery? Slavery is lack of choice or lack of control of one's environment. The common misconception of anarchism, where everyone can do whatever they want, pre civilization and the like. Survival of the fittest. Is that freedom? Even the strongest can't rely on being the strongest moment to moment. The best man doesn't always win. The fastest many times loses the race. Talent is a passport to nowhere in particular. Absolute freedom means one's environment is closer to chaos even in your presence. Freedom is to be a slave to chance, luck and circumstance.


Ignorance is Strength.
What is ignorance? Fundamental belief that your perception is the right one. The chosen one. The divinely inspired one. The one backed by the laws that govern the natural world. The one tested and proven. Absolutism has been an astoundingly successful concept when approaching one's world. Fanatics don't just survive, they win. The army that knows victory is predetermined cannot lose, and rarely does. Ignorance, or lack of doubt, is where strength in belief is drawn from.


Just for fun.

[Captain Blackadder]

Well of course the great thing about 1984 is that all those statments are true in the world of the novel.

The Constant state of war keeps the proles down and makes it so that the goverment has peace.

Freedom is slavery in the world of 1984 no one is free and it is impossible to escape from the world so the only way to be free is to be dead or be a prole in which case you are inslaved and doing all the dirty work of the party.

Ignorance is strength this is the most obvious one with the constant watching by the party you are doomed the second you know anything as Winston says the second he wrote in the diary he was doomed. So it is only the ignorant who survive in the world of the party the smart people like
SPOILER

Syme


END SPOILER

end up imprisoned

[rathelios]

Orwell was talking about totalitarian societies.
Perhaps if he were alive now he might say some of these things are true even in our much vaunted capitalist representative democracies.

War is peace: Our peaceful existence in the west is dependent on our continued technological supremacy which is maintained by selling weapons to dodgy regimes like Saudi Arabia who then oppress their people and, in some African countries, fight internecine wars.

Freedom is slavery: Our freedom is actually the enslavement of the individual to the greater good of the society. We are also financial serfs to the banking system through mortgages and credit, for example.

Ignorance is strength: In order to live a happy fulfilled life it is best not to think about any of the above and simply be the hamster running in his wheel.