this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2024
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1984 is still a work of fiction, and one that is not really making suggestions on how to combat dystopia. It's a warning, sure, but reading leftist theory that actually makes analysis and provides suggestions on what to practically do is more useful.
1984 doesn't have a happy ending, unless your idea of a happy ending is a man going insane. Oceania was always a lost cause. The point of warnings is that you're supposed to avoid the thing they're warning you against.
The Oceania itself could not be reformed from the inside, it had to be dismantled, and ultimately isn't by the end of the book, yes. Orwell never tries to show how to fix the problem, nor does he explain the mechanisms or forces that led to Oceania. Thus, 1984 is a depiction of what could be, in order to say "avoid this," without recommending a course of action.
Leftist theory on the other hand does focus on mechanisms, existing material conditions, frames of analysis, and propositions to enact change and what change to enact.
1984 is a fine book to read for enjoyment, but not for changing society.
The only rebellion shown in the book is Goldstein's manifesto and even that turns out to be a lie. The State invented Goldstein's rebellion to weed out Thought criminals. And Winston fell for it.
Yep, it does a great job of just being doomer and fun to engage with on the basis of story, but not applicable to reality.
The point (which I guess I needed to point out) is that this isn't a work of fiction, anymore. Government has been granted unprecedented power to conduct surveillance on innocent people with no warrants or accountability. Companies carry out data harvesting and location tracking in nearly every consumer product connected to the Internet. Microsoft has literally incorporated spyware into Windows 11 (CoPilot / Recall). We are living in a real life surveillance state right NOW and our government and corporations are clearly fine with it. And that's where the "how-to" guide comes into it. That's the BAD THING. I really didn't think I needed to spell it out, but damn.
Yes, we already live in a dystopia, reading 1984 does not tell people how to escape that in any capacity nor does it suggest how to prevent it.