Posted on 08/11/2018 5:35:15 AM PDT by Chickensoup
Just finished The Road to Wigan Pier a book Orwell wrote about leftism and fascism during the 30's in Great Britan.
Chilton Williamson from CHRONICLES had recommended it in the magazine's What the Editor's are Reading section.
Good selection. This is a discussion of class, industrialization, and Orwell's perspective of what happens when humans are treated as disposable. Interestingly, during the industrialization of Great Britain, there were many thrown out of work and lots of talk, as there is today about the dole (today read guaranteed income) being the way to allow people to be "free."
Many other parallels with today and a scathing indictment of socialism.
If you are a politics and culture kind of person, don't miss it.
I so do wish there was a reading club that focused on political cultural books in my area.
Good selection. This is a discussion of class, industrialization, and Orwell's perspective of what happens when humans are treated as disposable. Interestingly, during the industrialization of Great Britain, there were many thrown out of work and lots of talk, as there is today about the dole (today read guaranteed income) being the way to allow people to be "free."
Many other parallels with today and a scathing indictment of socialism.
If you are a politics and culture kind of person, don't miss it.
I so do wish there was a reading club that focused on political cultural books in my area.
Just so we are clear. Orwell WAS a socialist.
bookmark
Yes he was. But it is an interesting indictment of socialism and its pretentions.
You will recognize the people he talks about in the here and now. It holds up beautifully almost 100 years later.
Good post. This book is now on my To-Read list.
Agree that Orwell is indeed a prescient genius. Recently reread “1984”. During the chapter where Winston Smith is brain-washed by the State to believe that 2+2=5, I had an epiphany. This part of the book illustrates the power of the State to make the individual believe the unbelievable.
Most people would like to believe that such coercive power is pure science fiction. Yet we can see something similar happening today with the Trans-sexual debate. Many people now profess to believe that a Trans man or woman IS actually of the sex they claim to be, instead of their true (biological) sex. Thus, IMHO, this proves that Orwell was exactly right about the power of the State (including the media) to make people believe the unbelievable.
bmp
Orwell was extremely smart.
But we have not moved so much toward 1984 as we have moved toward Huxley’s Brave New World.
In Brave New World, the state does not rely on harsh Orwellian stomping on faces. Instead, it controls all the institutions of society, and people are raised to believe all is well, right, and moral. They never have a means of suspecting anything different.
We are moving much closer to Brave New World than to 1984.
Of course, the problem is that the State has to control nearly everything. Our digital technology has made that control both more difficult, and easier, if the State aggressively censors the Internet.
There are some passages that nibble at the edges of British socialism in L.T.C. Rolt's* autobiography that I found interesting, specifically when Kerr, Stewart & Co. was shuttered and later when the railroads were nationalized. "The aristocracy or the mob" makes for a dismal future.
Mr. niteowl77
*Rolt is best known for his books on engineering history and his work in preserving British canal and railroad history.
I had an epiphany. This part of the book illustrates the power of the State to make the individual believe the unbelievable.
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I do agree with you to an extent. The emotionally stupid walk along in lockstep. Those who disagree are punished by the state through Human Rights Tribunals.
It is interesting, that behind closed doors people talk about how much of a lie the whole trans thing is. The state and the tribunals have instilled such fear.
We are moving much closer to Brave New World than to 1984.
___________
I would say we are combining both.
the harshness of 1984 is in the legal system, while the social engineering is more Brave New World.
Available as a free PDF download here:
https://libcom.org/files/wiganpier.pdf
In-depth review available here:
http://central.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/the_road_to_wigan_pier
You may enjoy a book I just read called The Perfectionists. About precision and accuracy as a catalyst in the modern manufacturing world.
Fascinating.
Good review and thanks for the link.
Our digital technology has made that control both more difficult, and easier, if the State aggressively censors the Internet.
So many (Hemmingway, Orwell) were back then...more because it was fashionable and anti-establishment. Most got "woke" in various once they got to know Castro, Stalin.
Orwell's epiphany was the brutality oppression that came after the Russian revolution.
It was before he went to Spain and saw the evil trap of the communist "solution"... before he was enlightened by his 1st hand on the ground experience of the tyranny of socialism - even when you were fighting on their side. It is from this later real 1st hand experience, AFTER "The Road to Wigan Pier" that Orwell wrote the the works (1984, Animal Farm, etc.) that he is now known for.
Once you turn over censorship to AI algorithms (vs. actual people) it will become very feasible.
________________
everyone carries their government behavior monitor in their pocket and loves it.
Some set it up in their houses.
Fools.
Love it!
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