Having evaluated my blog recently, I realised that I had not established my influences earlier on. ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell immediately springs to mind. This classic novel has of course inspired my political thought, not necessarily my beliefs but has been influential in the development of my political awareness. I therefore have written a piece on my interpretation of the classical novel.

In all honesty, the primary motivation for me borrowing this book from the school library was only ever to fulfill my deep desire for indulgence in [understandable] political philosophy. I had little prior knowledge about the content of the book or intent of filling up a ‘Reading List’ but I must admit in hindsight, what a brilliant thing to do it was. Immediately I was brought into the fictional setting and found myself prioritising each next page over homework  (of course I did complete my homework but here Orwell’s novel very much appealed to me).

Potentially whether the early indications that the book was to portray communism in an appalling light, or Russian communism particularly, attracted my attention (as a capitalist-supporting centrist – a conservative liberal one might label me as (please leave any prejudices you may have aside for this article)) or not is unclear, as I read the book back in December. Nonetheless, following Winston’s narrative triggered my train of thought to contemplate the ‘free’ society that I live in and whether I should consider myself lucky not to be as deprived of civil liberties as those in this novel are. Am I extremely lucky to have the legal right to ‘freedom of speech’ here in twentieth century UK? Of course I am. However, as Theresa May pushes for the unpopular and extremely controversial ‘Snooper’s Charter’, as it is referred to as by critics, is Government surveillance of society an evil or deprivation of freedom to the extent that Orwell portrays it, or is it a necessary tool for maintaining society’s structure and defending from terrorism?

I found Orwell’s minute exploration of the relationship between ‘Eastasia’, ‘Eurasia’ and ‘Oceania’ in Nineteen Eighty-Four rather fascinating as I have a vested interest in the study of International Relations and am currently undertaking a Level 3 Extended Project titled ‘Are Russian, Chinese and American Approaches to Foreign Policy Hindering the Progression of International Relations?’, thus this area is of great interest to me and I even quoted Orwell in my conclusion with regard to the identical natures of the three states.

Understand I am not a Literature student, although I hold those who are so in high regard, so excuse my post for focusing on my personal modern reflection rather than the outstanding techniques Orwell uses to craft his narrative of life under ‘Oceania’, or the Soviet Union/Russia.

I suppose this book is a starting point for philosophers interested in the field of politics, for it deals with the concept of freedom and equality and historical happenings of political communism in Russia, albeit totalitarian communism that does not reflect the ‘kind face of the left’ that itself and the media portrays as idealism. The significance of its publication is undoubted: Orwell, a self-declared socialist, provided the political right-wing with a literary weapon to attack the left and also intellectuals growing dangerously attracted to totalitarianism. It raised fears for the general public about the involvement of Government in everyday life.

What inspires me about it though? I formulated many of my early political ideas before reading this, so how does it fit in with influencing me if I already had political beliefs?

Orwell offers the uncommon message that left-wing does not equal that of betterment of society (although ‘betterment’ here could be defined in differing manners which may render this sentence untrue, if society is believed to be bettered through total government take-over). Those of similar ages to me, a technology-heavy generation, are fed propaganda from those on the left many times, warning of the racism and xenophobia of the right, which often leads politically uneducated (through no fault of their own) youths to align with left-wing organisations. Although I am not a right-winger either and I see similar happenings with adults and right-wing newspapers, it is worrying that whilst young people are so quick to label the media as right-wing, they often do not recognise the left-wing bias on social media.

I am not saying that we experience brainwashing to the scale of Room 101 in this novel but I worry very much that my generation is fed a narrative that left-wing equated to friendliness,  and ‘goodness’ whereas right-wing is symbolic of rich people, poverty , racists and malevolence. The agents on Twitter and Facebook (with no disrepute to these companies for these are merely the platforms used to broadcast left-wing agendas) appeal to emotions of the public and associate right-wing parties with hatred for others and no compassion and many take the criticisms at face value with no further investigation (as they have lives!).

Naturally most people would distant themselves from racist organisations or those wishing to divide society so with little or no political understanding, many youngsters of today align themselves with the Green Party for example, unaware of the extreme nature and actual extent of their policies. What Orwell’s classic novel from 1949 does is challenges this modern cosying to Government control and reminds us that left-wing pursuits do not necessarily make people happier, it does not make you a good, kind-hearted person if you choose to make yourself left-wing. Totalitarianism communism is shown in this novel to be flawed and an average human, Winston, who can think rationally, begins to challenge his absolute lack of any autonomy at all and stop conforming. Are a lack of freedom, an inability to express anything that does not glamour the Government and a low quality of life acceptable sacrifices in the name of “equality”?

I realise I sound like an angry right-winger manipulating Orwell’s book for my own purposes however I am not attacking the left , but instead attempting the address the political framework which still associates right wing with unkindness and the left with optimism and happiness. There are brilliant achievements on the political left to be celebrated (the democratic push for equal rights and the formation of the NHS to cite just a couple of examples) but this does not make them entirely perfect and kind nor improvements on those organisations who support maintaining capitalism.

It is ironic that as a socialist, Orwell’s work provides ammunition against those similar to his political ideology, but it is worth noting that whilst totalitarianism was something warned about in his novels, his experiences in life not only gave him distaste for those on the far left, but also those right-wing.

Although he appeals to some form of socialism, in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ Orwell is acknowledging that Government control of a society leads to disastrous consequences and essentially this is the major point of influence for me. Although the story was interesting to read, the philosophical and political undertones were key in reminding me of the dangers of totalitarianism which are often left out of political debates.

I conclude this post with an admiration for this book I had not anticipated beforehand. After handing it back into the library, I even went out and bought my own personal copy. I finished the book feeling grateful for the freedom of the society in which I live. Others are not so fortunate, and that is a shame, but freedom is that most valued only when lost, thus this novel is a brilliant measure of appreciating it, whilst sympathising with those under the Russian communism.

The final word goes out as a message of love, peace and prayer to those injured, killed and traumatised by the recent attacks in Brussels, Ankara and Lahore. Terrorism has no borders and no place in any society, is barbaric and those innocents who had their lives stolen from them will be remembered and their lives celebrated, for humanity is beautiful and those who detract from that in this terror-striking way are undeniably evil.

“He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4). 

Or so we pray.

Thank you for reading and I hope the lives of those killed in the recent attacks are in your prayers,

Cameron.