ID: A black and white photo of George Orwell speaking in to an old style BBC table microphone, around his image is his quote: “War is not meant to be won, it is meant to continuous. Hierarchal society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance… The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or east Asia, but to keep the very structure of society intact.”
I wonder what would happen if we made the leaders that want war to do the fighting themselves. Like if every army in the world just refused to fight their governments wars. In the US, the president is supposed to be the “commander in chief”, yet doesn’t actually lead.
It’s a nice thought, but sadly we will never get to find out…
It’s one of the reasons they maintain a poverty class, and invest in providing free (or heavily subsidised) education, housing, meals, and healthcare for soldiers (not to mention the massive and imperialist propaganda machine) - can’t feed the meat grinder if no one is desperate to enlist just to survive.
Rule 0
That’s from 1984. More specifically, “the book” inside the book.
…I hate how poorly people understand 1984, how much they distort it, putting words in Orwell’s mouth. And, in the process, they miss little gems like this one.
This happens to Animal Farm quite a bit as well.
This specific part is what broke the idea of US patriotism for me. We have always been at war with _________.
There will always be an enemy to stir the gullible into a frenzy over.