Orwellian
Orwellian describes a situation, idea, or condition that George Orwell identified as being inimical to the welfare of a free-society. An attitude and a policy of control by propaganda, misinformation, denial of truth, and manipulation of the past (including the "unperson"--a person whose past existence is expunged) practiced by modern repressive governments. Often, this includes the situations depicted in his fictional novels, particularly his political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell's ideas on personal freedom and state authority developed during his time as a British colonial administrator in Burma. He was fascinated by the effect of colonialism on the individual; it requires accepting the lie that the oppressor exists for one's own good. This perverts the humanity of both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Meanings
The term "Orwellian" refers to the following behavior of "the state" or "the party" (especially when the party is the state):
- The state's manipulation of language for political ends. Obfuscation in naming is a favorite; e.g. WAR IS PEACE. The state's use of language is designed to reduce or eliminate ideas deemed dangerous to its authority.
- Invasion of personal privacy by the state, whether physically or by means of surveillance.
- The exercise of total state control in the daily life of citizens, as in a "Big Brother" society.
- The state's encouragement of policies which contribute to the economic and social disintegration of the family.
- The substitution of traditional religion with the adoration of the state and/or its leaders.
- The state's encouragement "doublethink," whereby the population must learn to embrace inconsistent concepts without dissent.
- The revision of history in the state's favor.
- A dystopian future.
Big Brother
The most common sense is that of the all-controlling "Big Brother" state, and is often used to describe negatively a situation in which a Big Brother-like authority figure — in concert with "thought police" — can constantly monitor the population, in order to detect betrayal or improper thoughts. Orwellian is also used to describe oppressive political ideas, and the use of euphemistic language in political discourse to camouflage morally outrageous ideas and actions. In this latter sense, the term is often used as a means of attacking an opponent in political debate, by branding his or her policies as Orwellian.
Political language
Orwell tried to promote the use of more precise language in political discourse, and he criticised political language popular at the time, such as "running-dog lackey" and "Fascist octopus," which he said prevented thought. It seems unlikely that Orwell would have approved of many of the uses to which his pseudonym is applied. The loose definition of the term and the often poor correlation between the real life situations people describe as Orwellian and his own dystopian fiction leave the use of the adjective at best inexact and frequently politically inaccurate. In his essay Politics and the English Language, Orwell derides the use of cliché and dying metaphors, which "even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent" and goes on to say "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."
In many of his essays and letters Orwell criticised words with formally precise definitions being used badly and the vague slide in meaning for many of these words. He was a fierce critic of Fascism but he would freely mock the promiscuous use of the word:
It would seem that, as used, the word 'Fascism' is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else.[1]
References
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