The most misunderstood novel of the 20th century

Yes, there is a connection between this guy and the novel!

"1984" is one of the most well-known novels of the 20th century, perhaps ever. It is also one of the most misunderstood.

Many readers assume that the novel is anti-Communist and anti-socialist. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Orwell was a socialist himself. During the Spanish Civil War, he fought for a revolutionary party called POUM, "the Workers Party for Marxist Unification". Sounds pretty socialist to me. Orwell was anti-Stalinist, but believed Stalinism to be a perversion of true socialism.

So is his novel an attack on Stalinism, then? Both yes and no. "1984" was written in 1948 and published in 1949. During this time, many intellectuals believed that Stalinism and capitalism would eventually merge, creating a new system, combining the worst aspects of both. This feared system of the future was often called "bureaucratic collectivism". Rizzi, Schachtman and Burnham believed it could happen. Trotsky vacillated on the issue. Orwell must have believed in the grim possibility of "bureaucratic collectivism" himself. That is what his novel is really all about.

"1984" is set in a futuristic society called Oceania. On the surface, Oceania is Stalinist. But on a closer look, it actually looks like a strange mixture of the Soviet Union and the British Empire. On the one hand, Oceania has a unproductive planned economy. On the other hand, it fights for colonial supremacy in Africa and Asia. Indeed, its main bases of power are the Anglo-Saxon nations.

The ideology of Oceania is called "English Socialism", an obvious combination of the British and the Soviet. Oceania is run by a party, divided into the Inner Party and the Outer Party. The underclass is called proles. This is both a reference to the hierarchic Stalinist party in the USSR, and to the traditional British class structure: upper class (Inner Party), middle class (Outer Party) and working class (the proles). Interestingly, the proles are kept in line by mass-produced pornography. This, of course, is another veiled reference to the West. No such thing existed in Stalin's Soviet Union.

Even Big Brother himself may be a composite character. Principally, he is a symbol for Stalin, and apparently even looks like Stalin. (And his constant opponent, Goldstein, is a symbol for Trotsky. The mysterious "book" is presumably Trotsky's "The Revolution Betrayed".) However, some people believe that the inspiration for Orwell's slogan "Big Brother is Watching" comes from a 1930s advertising campaign in the US, where a certain corporate owner declared "Let me be your Big Brother" amidst an enormous portrait of himself!

"1984" is undoubtedly a very influential novel. Many terms from the book have become household words, like "Newspeak", "Thoughtcrime" and "Memory Hole". The same is true of the slogan "Big Brother is Watching You" or even the term "Orwellian", derived from the very name of the author. Indeed, if you haven't read this novel, you could be considered culturally illiterate.

It's a pity that such a popular novel has been so misunderstood. But perhaps that is the fate of all popular novels?