Eric Blair adopted the pseudonym George Orwell and authored many famous novels including today's main course "1984".
Over the next weeks leading up to the election, I'd like to present a pair of key works by different authors, and their undeniable correlation to today's world. We are on a slippery slope and vigilance/knowledge is paramount.
Throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns, use of the term Orwellian has become increasingly common to describe mandates and protocols. When using the term Orwellian, to describe any political or social situation, they are referring to his 1947 publication, 1984.
1984, was written as a hypothetical peek behind the Iron Curtain and as a warning against unchecked government control. In 2020, we can clearly see elements of this vision playing out in our society. It should not be taken lightly, especially as we continue to see the government expand its power and reach, and individualism gives way to group mentality and majority rules.
Let's dig a little deeper.
Big Brother and the Surveillance State
The society described in 1984 is shocking. Set after a destructive nuclear war, a single party government has taken control over people's lives and segregated them according to class. The Party exists in a state of continuous foreign war, so the population might always look to enemies outside their own borders and never at the enemy within.
The Party consistently rewrites history to maintain their narrative while any opposing views are destroyed. Only books and newspapers distributed by the Party are acceptable, everything else is determined to be dangerous contraband. Possession of unapproved material is punishable by torture or "vaporization," which is to say, they'll make it as if you never existed. To ensure that the population behaves, the knowledge that Big Brother is Always Watching is reinforced upon the people constantly.
Some parts of this may sound familiar in 2020, but none more so than the ever-vigilant watching eye of Big Brother. In our modern lives, we voluntarily pay for our own surveillance in the form of smart phone listening devices enabled with satellite location connectivity. We take Big Brother with us wherever we go. Combined with the dramatic rise in camera surveillance in public areas and on the roads, we are under constant observation.
The Single Party Government of 1984 controls the content and flow of information. If it goes against the Party's wishes, it doesn't see the light of day. We are seeing the same thing in 2020 on social media platforms and mainstream news. Since the Covid-19 crisis began, we have repeatedly witnessed viewpoints which differ from the prescribed narrative being silenced, censored, and mocked. Information is being focused and funneled into a single stream of thought; any opposition is labeled as crazy, dangerous, and even heretical. Differing views are now labeled as conspiracy theories. One of Orwell's most famous quotes from the novel is, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." History is not written in stone, it can and has changed over time to suit the present ruling class. Think of this when you hear someone talking about tearing down Mount Rushmore or any other statue or relic. The Party uses what they call Doublespeak regularly as a tool to mislead and confuse. In the novel, the Party has three mantras that are recited at consistent intervals throughout the day by all workers, War is Peace - Freedom is Slavery - Ignorance is Strength.
These statements are oxymoronic in their logic, but that is the point. If all information is contradictory, then the actual truth can remain hidden indefinitely.
Consider this approach when watching the nightly news or listening to politicians and pundits speak in what sounds like circular language. Odds are, it's not by accident. 1984, was written as a hypothetical peek behind the Iron Curtain and as a warning against unchecked government control. In 2020, we can clearly see elements of this vision playing out in our society. It should not be taken lightly, especially as we continue to see the government expand its power and reach, and individualism gives way to group mentality and majority rules.
Gold and silver are the money of individualism and personal liberty. Eliminating physical currency, cash, and imposing negative interest rates on the people are not the fantasies of a gold bug. They are real policies that are inevitable going forward. Gold is freedom from these oppressive government policies.
Next week, we'll take a look at author G. Edward Griffin and has landmark study of The Federal Reserve.
