soypoint-1 DAE we're living in 1984?soypoint-2

  • yoink [she/her]
    ·
    2 months ago

    i remember the half-truth going around when I was a teenager and first encountering this book, that orwell was actually writing about a system he himself was part of

    it literally took until this thread for me to realise I still had never addressed that falsehood, like of course orwell didn't actually live in the USSR, but i bet most people (if asked) will still believe that to be the case - that 1984 is orwell criticising a system he previously supported/was a part of, and not a piece of fiction spun out of whole cloth

    • BelieveRevolt [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 months ago

      that 1984 is orwell criticising a system he previously supported/was a part of

      Technically, I guess this is true if you interpret it as being a critique of ukkk. IIRC, there's nothing in the book indicating that Oceania is supposed to be a communist country, except maybe "Ingsoc", but you can easily dismiss that by saying the Nazis called themselves socialists too.