55 years later, 'A Clockwork Orange' is becoming a policy blueprint

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[E. Pluribus Unum]

Transcript Summary

The text draws parallels between Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971 film, based on Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel) and perceived real-world trends in criminal justice, particularly in Canada under Liberal policies, and extends to the UK.

Key parallels claimed:

• Dystopian society with rampant youth violence, yet government favors "rehabilitation" over punishment, including lenient bail, short sentences, early transfers to lower security, and a "hug-a-thug" approach that avoids deterrence.

• In the film, the Ludovico technique uses drugs and forced exposure to violence to condition aversion to it; the author likens this to Justin Trudeau's 2017 stance against revoking citizenship of returning ISIS fighters ("a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian"), favoring rehabilitation over incarceration. Specific rehabilitation included poetry classes for some (sarcasm about ineffectiveness, e.g., potential "drag queen story time").

• Film's minister notes need to reserve prison space for "political offenders" rather than common criminals; author suggests Canadian early releases of violent offenders create space for political prisoners (e.g., Freedom Convoy's Tamara Lich), amid upcoming censorship bills criminalizing "wrong thought."

• Film shows government hiring ex-criminals as police (Alex beaten by former gang members now officers); author cites a January 2026 Sky News report on the Metropolitan Police relaxing vetting to meet recruitment targets (part of UK's 20,000-officer uplift), leading to over 130 wrongly hired/retained officers committing misconduct/crimes, including serial rapists David Carrick (serving multiple life sentences) and Cliff Mitchell (life sentence for rapes, including child; initially rejected but overturned partly to reduce ethnic disproportionality in vetting refusals).

Overall argument: Elements of the film's satirical dystopia—soft-on-crime policies, forced "reprogramming," reserving prisons for political dissenters, and integrating criminals into law enforcement—are allegedly manifesting in modern Canadian (and UK) liberal governance, prioritizing ideology (e.g., DEI, cultural sensitivity, gun control on law-abiding citizens) over public safety and deterrence. Canada trails UK policies by ~5 years.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: clockworkorange; dystopian; movies; policy

[CletusVanDamme]

“I was cured, all right”.

[HighSierra5]

3,936.256.1984 squared

[Skywise]

It’s just before my time but I seem to recall that the world was moving in a dystopian fashion even then which was what this movie was calling out. Counter culture, hippies, Vietnam war protests, students back talking their teachers even then.

It never went away.

Again, though, this is part of the CCPs globalist grab to extend communism everywhere. Covid was the trial run.

[struggle]

This and Burgess’ 1985 (the novella part) are almost prophetic about England.

[popdonnelly]

Saw the movie in 1971. I thought our World would never become like that. I think I was wrong. Now we care more about perps than victims.

[blackdog]

Kubrick and Burgess are owed incredible policy consultants fees in today’s governments.

[Third Person]

“I’m warning you, little Alex, being a good friend to you, as always, the one man in this sore and sick community who wants to save you from yourself!”

[Big Red Badger]

Singing in the Rain !
.
Vidie Well

[Fiji Hill]

I found it interesting that the kids were using Russian slang words like "horrorshow" (хорошо) for "good," "droog" (друг) for "friend," and "starry loodies" (старыe люди) for "old people." This was probably because they were required to learn it in school, since they lived in a Communist country and Russian is the lingua franca of Communism. During the Cold War, students in Hungary, East Germany and other members of the East Bloc were required to study Russian in school.

[Liz]

Anthony Burgess

[Robert DeLong]

I t was certainly starting down that road, but it has gotten much worse, because the numbers & percentages have expanded significantly over time.

Again, though, this is part of the CCPs globalist grab to extend communism everywhere. Covid was the trial run.

I'll agree with you now in this time & age. However, it ws the Soviet Union back then.

We hadn't even begun the normialaztion process with China. China was not even a threat, unless we went at them in a beligerent manner. The nornaltion process was an attempt to bring China into our sphere of influence to have an effect against Russia in the Cold War.

[Dead Corpse]

“Sin? What’s all this about sin?”

[Lurker]

“Two jobs for two what are of job age.”

L

[irishjuggler]

Burgess’ “The Wanting Seed” was also extraordinarily prophetic... As far as I know, he was, by far, first out of the gate to predict government promotion of homosexuality.

[nuconvert]

55 Years??? That’s impossible.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Read some of John Brunner’s work. Dystopian and prophetic also.
Although he was wrong on the overpopulation theme, he was spot on in some other areas. Probably the most so was “The Shockwave Rider” on computer viruses and electronic surveilance of the people.

[telescope115]

I thought our World would never become like that.

***

I never thought it would, either. I never actually thought about it, but it sure seems like we are there.

I never liked that movie. It’s one of my wife’s favorites. Go figure…

[gymbeau]

“” I was cured, all right”. “

LOL!
I can’t hear the finale of Ludwig van’s Ninth without saying that!
Drives my wife nuts.

[sunny bonobo]

“Read some of John Brunner’s work”
********************************
Haven’t read “Shockwave Rider.” Found an old paperback copy at a yard sale last week. Read “Stand On Zanzibar” when it came out. Was sort of a member of the counterculture at the time and it seemed to fit the zeitgeist.I still have the paperback copy with the Hugo Winner blurb on it. Don’t know how it would stand up today.