“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.”
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
- George Orwell, 1984
Huxley and Orwell were contemporaries. Huxley’s dystopian masterpiece was published in 1932 at the outset of the rise of totalitarianism, while Orwell’s was published in 1949 after 65 million people perished in a World War and Stalin had already murdered tens of millions of his own citizens. Those were dark times. They also coincided with Edward Bernays 1928 publication of Propaganda, in which he revealed the existence of an invisible government who used propaganda to manipulate the minds of the public to insure those controlling the levers of power were able to engineer their desired outcomes.
Debate has raged over the decades whether Huxley’s or Orwell’s dystopian vision of the future would be more accurate. Both visions required the successful use of propaganda by those in power to achieve their agendas. Huxley wrote a letter to Orwell after reading 1984 in 1949, shortly before Orwell’s death. His conclusion was as follows:“Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience. In other words, I feel that the nightmare of Nineteen Eighty-Four is destined to modulate into the nightmare o f a world having more resemblance to that which I imagined in Brave New World. The change will be brought about as a result of a felt need for increased efficiency. Meanwhile, of course, there may be a large-scale biological and atomic war—in which case we shall have nightmares of other and scarcely imaginable kinds.”
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
11 comments:
These used to be required reading in junior high. Are they now?
In WW-II, the Germans made a retreat from Stalingrad, Leningrad, and the other surrounding areas of their invasion into Russia. The Germans were through and poorly equipped, even for a retreat which they did handily by day and night. Many wounded and frostbitten and with no provisions or aid to be had, they soldiered on. Sometimes attacked by rebels and stray Russian regulars the prisoners sometimes chose suicide over capture or firing squad which was gladly provided by the comrades. Things became bland and antiseptic to the point nothing made sense or was normal, not even the red of blood seemed real. One military historian noticed the conditions of these men who were valiant soldiers yet clearly docile. They weren't only beaten down but also demoralized to the point they thought they had nothing to live for and were displaying the 500 mile stare.
If you think about it, the same has happened with the throw-off from the virus and soft brained politicians who are making these dumbbell decisions and you see where it's got us. Hogan and the other natural ass Cuomo, has crippled the State of Md. while the 'Eastern shore Delegation' has sat on their respective asses and clammed up. No comment, actions, or even a question to dare to attack him and his stupid policies. Voted for by the public and ruled by the other damn fools in Annapolis is where we are.
The part that hurts is we voted for all of them to represent us and it's on their hands, the inaction that really made all of us 'slaves.
Yes, we are slaves and in a more bitter bondage than the Jewish folks which are now going to have to endure a second round ever were.
This is a good reason, no matter what party, to really analyze your position on voting and the ones you vote for because what we're involved in now is the fruit of earlier mistakes.
Nope
Both men were told the future in advance.
Our present situation has been imagined and planned for several generations.
The elite bloodlines are very good at mind control.
They own the modern media entirely including Hollywood and Music Industry
3:51
Give a mental health specialist a call please.
What people are not getting is that forces that be do not want to enslave you. They are not Socialists or Marxists. They are Nihilists they want to strip all faith,hope,meaning and prosperity and believe humanity is a meaningless infestation consuming the planet and it's resources like a mindless plague and believe that all being is abject suffering and a finite biodegrational demise and believe those telling you otherwise are getting rich at your expense so their own fatality is comfortable.
Deep thinking here today. This virus and the upcoming Presidental election has everyone soul searching. Good or bad we do need to focus on our future and vote TRUMP 2020🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Well stated 2:46
Langley I bet
You do realize these are anticonservative, antifascist sentiments, don't you Joe? Are you too dense to even pick that up?
Who is asking the question? Is it the same one that espoused how great Hogan was and how we should all wear masks?
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