Orwell’s ’1984′ Seen as Disturbingly Contemporary

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by Mike Gray

In the latest Consumer Power Report from the Heartland Institute, Greg Scandlen finds Orwell’s 1949 book all too up-to-date:

One [insight that struck me] was in the forbidden book by the arch-enemy of the State, Emmanuel Goldstein, that Winston Smith reads just before his arrest. Goldstein writes of how the new regime came to power – “The new aristocracy was made up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians. As compared with their opposite numbers in past ages, they were less avaricious, less tempted by luxury, hungrier for pure power, and, above all, more conscious of what they were doing and more intent on crushing opposition.”

Sound familiar?

The book and the 1956 film as well as the Richard Burton version are available on Amazon.com.

You can also watch the 1954 BBC-TV production of 1984 on-line.

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Resources:

Consumer Power Report #233.

The 1956 film version of 1984 is here. The 1984 production is here. The book is here. And the BBC-TV version is here.

Tags: Consumer Power Report, Greg Scandlen, Heartland Institute, Nineteen Eighty-four