The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical (oh-li-gar-kick) Collectivism

Or: “How to stop crafting a nuanced piece of fiction and cram in your own philosophical principles with all the subtlety of a tap-dancing rhinoceros.”

George Orwell presents…

Ahhh… Chapter 9 of 1984!…Where Orwell presents an

excerpt from Emmanuel Goldstein’s book.

…Where the author presents his most overt philosophical beliefs on society, politics, and the history of organized government.

…Where readers ask themselves, “Can this be true?” and “What does it mean?” and “How many marshmallows can I fit in my mouth?”

Oli…what?!Oligarchy: a form of government where political

power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society.

Collectivism: a term used to describe any moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human interdependence and the importance of a “collective group” rather than the importance of separate individuals.

Some working definitions of -isms… You’ll just heart them!Capitalism: A social system based in which people are free to produce, trade, and thus precondition an economic system in which all property is privately owned and operated for profit.

Investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a market economy.

Socialism: A socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community.

Let’s start with where Orwell got his ideas.

Das Kapital by Karl Marx

The Managerial Revolution by James Burnham

Hitler’s Germany

Das Kapital by Karl Marx Orwell was heavily influenced by Marx’s Das

Kapital, a criticism of capitalism.

Marx explained that the central injustice of capitalism was in the exploitation and alienation of labor-- "the degradation of labor".

In Das Kapital, Marx describes history in terms of classes: the upper class—who control the means of production—and the lower class—who trade their labor for access to the means.

To analyze a work literary work like 1984 from a Marxist perspective, the reader must identify the social classes and describe how their interactions shape the story.

The Managerial Revolution by James Burnham

Burnham wrote several influential essays. In The Managerial Revolution, Burnham

argued that capitalism was fading, but socialism was not taking its place. Instead, a complex system of super-nations (corporations) were becoming the new organizers of society.

These super-states will fight among themselves for possession of the remaining uncaptured portions of the earth, but will probably be unable to conquer one another completely. Internally, each society will be hierarchical, with an aristocracy of talent at the top and a mass of semi-slaves at the bottom.

The Managerial Revolution continued

Burnham is mainly interested in demonstrating that a democratic society has never existed and so far as we can see, never will exist.

Society is of its nature oligarchical—that is, governed by the few– and the power of the oligarchy always rests upon force and fraud.

The Three Stooges are not a committee.

Hitler’s Nazi GermanyOrwell was deeply disturbed by the pervasiveness, efficiency, and success of Nazi Germany. He based many facets of 1984 on its example, including: The use of sophisticated propaganda

against a largely innocuous or invented adversary to create patriotic fury in the masses.

The use of an oppressive and often secret police (Gestapo) to enforce internal threats to the lower party.

The attempts to control the populace through reinvention of language, family units, and even historical details.

It is no coincidence

that Emmanuel Goldstein is a Jewish name.

Now… on to Chapter 9!

The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism

Chapter 1: Ignorance is Strength

Thus, the Middle become the new High, while a new Middle develops, and the Low remain in their previous position.

Chapter 1: Ignorance is Strength Throughout history, there have been

three kinds of people: The High, The Middle, and The Low.

The goals of each group are entirely irreconcilable.

The High wish to remain High… er, in power, that is.

The Middle want to switch places with The High.

This pattern never changes.

And thus, history unfolds in the following pattern:

The High remain in power for a time, until they lose faith in themselves, or their ability to rule efficiently, or both.

They are overthrown by the Middle, who enlist the Low by pretending to be fighting for liberty or justice or some other cause.

The Low—when they have a goal—wish to establish a society where there are no class distinctions.

Chapter 1: Ignorance is Strength

The entire function of Ingsoc, the ruling party of Oceania, is to ensure that Ingsoc never loses power. To that end, the party utilizes a variety of techniques: • Inbred Crimestop• Doublethink• A constantly changing past• Perpetual Warfare

Indeed, shaping the ideal citizen is part of Ingsoc’s agenda.

Chapter 1: Ignorance is Strength

Are you the perfect citizen? Do you…

...Prevent crimes by being so stupid or feeble-minded that you are no longer capable of revolutionary thought?

…Practice doublethink– the process of holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time and believing both?

…Wordlessly accept a constantly revised description of past events that almost always negate your own experiences?

In Goldstein’s world, there are three superpowers:

Chapter 3: War is Peace

Boom!

Kerpow!No one superpower is strong enough to conquer the other

two.

Thus, the goal of warfare is not to win, but to continuously use up the

surplus of a society without actually raising the standard of

living.Boom!

And so, the business of society becomes not protecting the

interests of the governed, but a sustainable, perpetual state of

warfare.

Why fight a never-ending war? Oh, I’m so glad you asked!

Chapter 3: War is Peace First, war eats up any surplus

materials. If you have these lying around, sooner or later the lower classes are going to ask for them.

• Second, it encourages people to hand authority over to a hierarchy. Threatened by an invading hoard? Don’t worry, an institutionalized system of government will save you!

Most importantly, it creates political dedication. It makes the governed more patriotic and they just want to KILL ALL TERRORISTS! THEY MUST DIE! THE STREETS WILL RUN WITH BLOOD! YAH YAH YAH I LOVE MY COUNTRY!!!!!

Now of course, we don’t actually want to WIN these wars. No, no, no.

For one thing, if you launch a full assault, you might LOSE. Best not fight anyone you could possibly lose to.

Second, if your people interact with other societies in a meaningful way, they might begin to identify with them as people. You’ll lose your cultural integrity.

Third—and most dangerous—your citizens might begin to recognize that 1) the enemy is much like themselves, 2) conditions within nations are not that different, and 3) each nation has pretty much the same ruling philosophy. This might lead to one of those aforementioned revolts.

Chapter 3: War is Peace

Theory and Practice: Do you buy it?

Orwell blended the political realities of his lifetime with the theories and ideas of Marx and Burnham to create the world of 1984. The question is: Do you agree with his conclusions?

• That those in power will seek to keep this power until it is forcibly removed?

• That those in power will purposely perpetuate a wartime climate despite the loss of state and human capital?

• That those in power will work to create a populace that is uninformed, disinterested in reform, and ultimately desirous that those in power remain empowered?