The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Dystopia

Given the political and social events of the last few decades in America, Canada, Europe, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, I decided to reread the three great dystopian novels of the first half of the 20th century - Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Brave New World. These three books are often quoted but rarely read and not fully understood by those that are knowledgeable of these books. The last time I read these novels, I was in my teens, and I thought with all the knowledge and wisdom I have gained in the intervening years that I may have a different perspective on these novels in my seventies. In this, I discovered that, indeed, my perspective of these novels has changed and deepened. When you compare current political and social events to the contents of these novels, you will be even more concerned for the future of America and Europe. It appears that we are on a slippery slope downward into dystopia. Until we understand why we are on this slippery slope and the possible consequences of this slippery slope, it is difficult to change the course of this slippery slope. A brief synopsis of these books, along with my choice slogan and quote of these novels, is:

• Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell
  
  “FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD.”
  
  “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
  
  A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus, the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.
  
  
• Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell
  
  “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”
  
  “War is Peace.”
  “Freedom is Slavery.”
  “Ignorance is Strength.”
  
  Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, the symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow worker, Julia, but soon discovers the truths of Big Brother.
  
  
• Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley
  
  “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY”
  
  “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.”
  
  A technocratic World State that is committed to the happiness of all by engineering humans from conception through adolescence, then by consumerism and collectivism in a rigid caste system of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Each caste has its own duties and responsibilities, with limitations on their intelligence, skills, and abilities to fit within their roles in the World State. It is a world dominated by mass entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites. The story follows two main characters, a disgruntled Alpha engineered by the World State and someone accidentally born and raised outside the World State whom they refer to as “The Savage”. Each of them questions the tenets of the World State and the superficial happiness that the World State brings to humankind. At the end of this novel, The Savage decides to take the ultimate act of individualism in that he decides when, where, and how he should die.

These three novels can also be seen as the sequence of the slippery slope glide path into dystopia, in that Animal Farm is the start, Nineteen Eighty-Four is the middle, and Brave New World is the end of the slippery slope glide path into dystopia.

In Animal Farm, the oppressive human farmer and his farmworkers are overthrown by the farm animals for the noble-sounding ideals of equality and equity, and the seven Commandments are formulated as the personification of these noble ideals. Over time these ideals are perverted as the Sus domesticus and Canis familiaris species (pig rulers and dog enforcers) rise to leadership and then rulership. The seven written Commandments are verbally amended to accommodate the wants and desires of the pigs, and the dogs intimidate the other animals into submission. Some of the animals that dissent are killed, despite a commandment to not harm other animals. One animal escapes and becomes the bogeyman and scapegoat for all the ills that beset the farm. Sloganeering is replaced by thought, and history is revised and falsified to support the pig’s rulership. The seventh commandment, “All animals are equal.”, had been replaced by, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” At the end of the book, the pigs form a partnership with humans and the other farm animals:

“. . . looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

In reading and thinking about this novel, you will gain an appreciation of how the best of intentions can be corrupted into dastardly deeds and how great power, egocentrism, and megalomania can triumph over the best of intentions. Much of this is an allegory to the words and deeds of Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders to justify the growth of government at the expense of our Liberties and Freedoms. The inundation of the "The Biggest Falsehoods in America" to justify government actions have played a part in this slide, as well as the intimidation and violence of Social Justice Warriors that are being utilized by Democrat Party Leaders to obtain and retain power. All of this has contributed to the start of the downward slide of society into a dystopia.

In 1984 society is structured and rigidly controlled by the government through the Ministry of Love, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Plenty, and Ministry of Truth. All words, deeds, and even thoughts are regulated by these ministries, as “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” all the time. The slogans “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.” are the mantra of government and are utilized to justify any actions of the government to control the population. Big Brother and the Newspeak of crimestop, crimethink, doublethink, telescreen, and thinkpol, amongst other newspeak, are the tactics of population control. All positive emotions of human nature were to be eradicated, and the negative emotions were to be enhanced and channeled for the purposes of Big Brother. The fear of and the physical and psychological tortures of Room 101 in the Ministry of Love are utilized to reconstitute those who would deviate from the party line. The protagonist of the book, Winston Smith, has deviated from the party line and is subject to Room 101. At the end of the book, he is reconstituted, giving up his individualism and positive emotions, and submitting himself to Big Brother and his negative emotions. Consequently, at the end of this novel, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”

In my Article, “1984 - A Cautionary Tale, Not A Handbook”, I point out how the institutions of Big Tech, Mainstream Media, Mainstream Cultural Media, Modern Big Business, Modern Education, Modern Journalism, and Social Media have been corrupted to support the goals of Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders. The machinations and duplicities of "Public Education" to indoctrinate rather than educate our children, done to support Progressives/Leftists ideals and ideas, have also contributed to the slippery slope change in America. The usage of "Torturous and Convoluted Reasoning", "Obfuscation, Smoke, and Mirrors", and "Euphemisms, Doublespeak, and Disingenuousness" is now commonplace to justify the political agendas and policy goals of Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders. The double standards applied to Conservatives and  Republican Party Leaders, as I have Chirped on "07/15/21 The Party of Double Standards", is an attempt to marginalize then eradicate the opposition and is another example of the slippery slope downward into dystopia. In this, as in the words of former President Obama that they what to ‘fundamentally change’ America, we are becoming a ‘Big Brother’ society, with Big Brother being a society controlled by the Democrat Party Leaders.

Today, it is not possible to have a society of Brave New World due to the limitations of our science and technology. However, science and technology are constantly advancing, and it may be possible to have the science and technology of Brave New World by the end of the 21st century. We have today, however, a society that has stratified into Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, as in Brave New World. The current Brave New World stratification of society is that the Alphas are our governmental political and big business oligarchy, the Betas are our appointed government officers and big business middle managers, the Gammas are our government bureaucrats and office workers, and the Deltas are our manual laborers, while the Epsilons are our unemployed. As in Brave New World, the widespread usage of marijuana would be equivalent to their Soma, while their Orgies-Porgies are our modern hook-ups and sexual promiscuity, and their feelies are our computerized virtual realities.

In Brave New World, all scientific and technological progress is directed to the goals of society, and any research that runs counter to these goals is suppressed, and the researcher may be exiled. This would be equivalent to our universities' research departments, independent research organizations, and Big Business Research and Development departments in that they have become dependent on government largess for their support, and their contributions to society are disproportionately directed to ‘consensus’ or ‘acceptable’ (i.e., majority view or politically correct) research. Often dissidents of this consensuses or acceptableness research are not being funded or are being underfunded, and oftentimes they are disparaged or silenced and may lose their employment.

The foundation for establishing the World State In Brave New World was the Utilitarianism of “The greatest good for the greatest number” and “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one”. However, this Utilitarianism soon morphed into absolutism of only the needs of all, and no individualism was allowed. Nevertheless, not all individualism could be engineered out, and there are islands to exile those individuals who exhibit antisocial activity that does not fit into the world society of Brave New World. These dissident individuals are not reconstituted nor executed but exiled to these islands as their numbers are small. As a result, these islands are full of the most interesting people in the world, as they are populated by individuals who do not fit into the social model of the World State. However, they are totally dependent on the World State for their subsistence and necessities of life.

In these three novels, diatribe has replaced dialogue, sloganeering reigns supreme, and no independent thought is to be tolerated. The tactics of the Three D’s are utilized to obtain and retain power, as I have written in my Article "The Three D's (Demonize, Denigrate, Disparage) of Modern Political Debate", and there is no Rule of Law but only the Rule of Men and Women as I have chirped on “05/17/22 The Rule of Law versus The Rule by Men and Women”. History is rewritten to uphold the state, and facts and truths are altered or ignored to support the actions of the state. There is much analogy in our current government's words and deeds, as it has become increasingly difficult to believe what our current government and government leaders pontificate, as I have Chirped on "08/24/21 Their Lips are Moving".

In rereading these three dystopian novels, I have been able to detect elements in all of them that are applicable to our current society and may portend the future direction of our society. I have no intention nor desire to oppose social progress for the betterment of humankind or to be a Luddite (an opponent of technological progress), but I have every intention and desire to assure that we do not glide down the slippery slope into Dystopia as we appear to be doing today. Until we understand how it is possible to become a dystopian society, we cannot take proactive measures to prevent gliding down the slippery slope path into dystopia. A slippery slope path into dystopia that Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders seem intent on taking America.