note about 1984

[waxmephilosophical]

I agree that 1984 was a political statement about totalitarianism and not socialism. What I do not understand is why Orwell chose to call the party's principles English Socialism. Was he trying to prophesy that the Socialist party of his day would end up as a totalitarian government if it was not brought under control? Do you have any insights on this?

[cleanskater]

What many do not realize about Orwell is that he was a socialist, and 1984 was arguing against class warfare, not communism. Many state that Orwell's work 1984 was written about societies such as the U.S.S.R. and mistakingly associate 1984 to be an anti-communist piece of literature, although in actuality it was an anti-totalitarian view (an important distinction). If read from an open standpoint, the book is truely is a denouncement of a capitalist/totalitarian society and not a communist/totalitarian one, from references to "Proles" (Marx's reference to the labor class, the proletarians, in a CAPITALIST society).